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Entomologist coming to assess midge infestation
by The Daily Herald
Posted: Jan 12, 2006 19:33 UTC
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PHILIPSBURG - A Curaçao-based entomologist working at the Inspectorate of Health is expected to arrive in St. Maarten today, Thursday, to assess the infestation by the mosquito-like insects in sections of Philipsburg and more recently other districts on the island.
Commissioner Franklin Meyers told reporters Wednesday that Government would also be purchasing “a massive quantity” of “an effective insecticide” to combat the spread of the insects.
It could not be ascertained whether the insecticide would be used for fogging or in some other manner, or when exactly it would be acquired and used.
“The explosion of the midges is the first time that something like this has happened in St. Maarten. We know for a fact that these midges have always existed in St. Maarten, but not at the levels that they are (now),” Meyers told reporters during Wednesday’s Executive Council press briefing.
He said the larvae of the mosquito-like insects were a delicacy for what he referred to as the “pond birds.” He said that while importing these birds from neighbouring islands to eat the larvae of the midges was an option, it had been ruled out because of the current concerns associated with the spread of bird flu.
“There are neighbouring islands that have pond birds in quantities that we can import to try and combat the breeding of the eggs, but we also have to take into consideration that we cannot be irresponsible in importing birds with this bird flu going around, so this put that option out of the door.”
He said too that increasing the saline level of the pond had “worked for a few days. Then the population (of the midges) re-exploded.”
“I want to assure the population that although you many not see the Commissioner, we are doing what we have to, to combat the breeding of the midges,” he said.
The midges, which were initially believed to have been breeding in Great Salt Pond, have infested Philipsburg for some two months and are a nuisance to residents and businesses alike, with some businesses reporting that they have lost customers because of the situation.
The insects cling to doors, walls, vehicles and almost every part of a building to which they can gain access. They appear in larger quantities in the evenings and large quantities of dead ones, from which a foul scent emanates, are left for residents and businesses in the affected areas to clean up each morning.
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