In the midst of peak times for mosquitoes, St. John Mosquito Control detected positive cases of the West Nile Virus in St. John the Baptist Parish earlier this month, specifically in Zone 70 (Main St. area, LaPlace) and Zone 80 (Edgard), as well as in some of our surrounding parishes.

These samples are taken from mosquitoes in trapping locations located throughout the parish.

Personnel have been assigned to locate breeding sites. Once located, St. John Mosquito control will address the sites as necessary. Residents and the immediate area within a one- to five-city-block-radius of the sampling site should have received information regarding the heightened potential for encephalitis infection in the neighborhood, along with recommendations for personal protection and yard sanitation.

Additional spraying in the affected zones has commenced. If you are having an outdoor function or if you are experiencing a larger volume of mosquitoes, you are encouraged to call St. John Mosquito Control to request additional spraying in those areas. They can be reached at 985-536-6530.

August and September are peak times for mosquitoes, and we encourage all of our residents to take additional precautions when outdoors.

When I first took office I had the pleasure of touring the St. John Mosquito facility and I was impressed with the facility and trained team of experts put together to help us fight the bite.

We are in good hands in St. John!

Below are safety tips on how to protect you and your family. For more information, visit our parish website at sjbparish.com under Residents > Parish Services > Mosquito Control or the State Department of Health & Hospitals at dhh.louisiana.gov.

Protecting People

Wear a mosquito repellent containing DEET. It is not recommended for the use of repellents with more than 30 percent DEET for children. Insect repellents are not recommended for children younger than 2 months of age.

CDC recommends following the recommendations appearing on the product label when using repellent.

Apply repellent on exposed skin and clothing — do not apply under clothes or on broken skin.

To apply repellent to face, spray on hands and rub on face, avoiding the eyes.

Adults should always apply repellent to children.

Wear long-sleeved shirts and pants when outdoors for long periods of time.

Avoid perfumes and colognes when outdoors for extended periods of time.

Protecting Your Home

Make sure all windows and doors are tight-fitting and screens are free of holes.

Eliminating standing water where mosquitoes breed.

Dispose of tin cans, ceramic pots and other unnecessary containers.

Turn over wheelbarrows, plastic wading pools, buckets, trash cans, children’s toys or anything that could collect water.

Drill holes in the bottom of outdoor recycling containers.

Check and clean roof gutters routinely, as they can produce millions of mosquitoes each season.

Aerate ornamental pools or stock them with fish; water gardens can become major mosquito producers if they are allowed to stagnate.

Clean and chlorinate swimming pools that are not being used.

Michael P. Wright is St. John the Baptist Parish Council chairman and District 5 representative. Contact him at District5@sjbparish.com.