The prolonged flooding in the Boise River has created what Ada County officials are calling “an unprecedented existence” of mosquitoes in the Treasure Valley.
With the increased numbers, “Ada County’s Mosquito Abatement District is anticipating a potential epidemic level of West Nile Virus due to the abundance of larvae already in the valley,” Ada County Punblic information Officer Kate McGwire. “Even though the river flows are not low enough to evaluate where the problems areas will be, Ada County is being proactive in this insect fight.”
Ada County’s Mosquito Abatement District has been now added to the Local Disaster Emergency Declaration that was created under Idaho Code Section 46-1011 on March 27 of this year.
“By adding Mosquito Abatement to the emergency declaration, this will open up their budget, giving access to emergency line items such as aerial spraying,” McGwire explained.
Mosquito Abatement officials are currently researching options for aerial spraying, including a process called aerial larviciding. “This has never been done in Ada County, but has the ability to treat a large area at one time and to treat the larvae before they turn into adults,” said McGwire.
Being a part of the emergency declaration gives the Mosquito Abatement District the ability to work with other agencies and develop funding sources to fight the insects.
The Local Flood Disaster Emergency Declaration will remain in effect until otherwise terminated by the Board of Ada County Commissioners.
