Alec Schaffer
An alternative eco-friendly mosquito control program that could cost residents more money was presented at Tuesday night’s city council meeting
The Laramie City Council tasked the parks and recreation department with developing an environmentally friendly mosquito control plan in September.
The City of Laramie’s current mosquito control program consists of two main phases –
larval control, which has both ground applications, and one air application.
The second phase consists of adult mosquito aerial control within city limits. This is done through aerial applications of promethium pesticides, producing spray clouds of chemical infused gas into the air from specially designed city vehicles. This practice is known as fogging.
This current program has 95 percent effectiveness in combating the Vector mosquitos Population. Vector mosquitos are the spices responsible for the spreading of the West Nile virus and are the focus of the mosquito control program Parks and Recreation Director Paul Harrison said.
Despite the effectiveness of the current mosquitos program at controlling the Vector mosquito population, many local citizens are concerned about possible health effects caused by use of organophosphates.
“The EPA says it’s not a level of concern,” David Schott, of parks and recreation, said in a prior work session.
However, the use of organophosphates does affect some predatory species.
“Yes there is other non-target killing,” Keith Wardlaw, mosquito control supervisor, said.
The use of organophosphates is often believed to cause detrimental effects on bee populations. Not all Laramie folk are convinced this is true though.
“In four years of beekeeping, I haven’t seen anything that indicates it has hurt my bees,” Chris Moody, local beekeeper, said.
The alternative program is estimated to have 95 percent efficacy – the same statistic for the current program. However in order to maintain a 95 percent efficiency rate, parks and recreation advised continued use of organophosphates applied by air in order to control the adult mosquito population.
Ground based adult control or fogging would be altered to use the more environmentally friendly pesticide Zenivex. The additional cost would be $46,000.
The alternative program would also use the aerial application of BTi, an eco-friendly mosquito control option.
The implication of the environmentally friendly agents while maintaining the 95 percent efficiency rate would require a total expense budget of $633,988. This would come out to a monthly fee of $4.89 for Laramie residents. The existing mosquito control program fee is $2.57 a month.
“I think the direction the city should go in is placing more emphasis on larval control,” Councilor Paul Weaver said.
The environmentally friendly option is worth the increased cost, Councilor Andrea Summerville.
Most Laramie citizens at Tuesday night’s public hearing also supported increased cost in favor of an environmentally friendly option.
“Go ahead,” Moody said. “I’ll pay the extra two bucks.”
