The LSU AgCenter developed a plan to try to reduce the number of mosquitoes biting people in New Orleans. The AgCenter donated more than 40,000 “mosquitofish” to the New Orleans Mosquito and Termite Control Board to help manage the insect population in the area. Steve Sackett, research entomologist and field superintendent for the board, said he worried about West Nile Virus appearing and spreading throughout New Orleans area. Sackett said the mosquitofish will help suppress the mosquito population by eating their larvae. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in water, and unattended swimming pools are providing large breeding grounds for the insects. The New Orleans Mosquito and Termite Control Board stocked about 4,500 abandoned swimming pools with the mosquitofish, a native fish to Louisiana that can tolerate poor water quality and periods of low dissolved oxygen. “When you have a flooded pool with a lot of organic matter, you have a biological oxygen demand, so we needed a fish that could survive those conditions,” said Mark Schexnayder, the AgCenter’s hurricane recovery coordinator. Schexnayder said the New Orleans Mosquito and Termite Control Board did not have to get special permission from homeowners to stock their swimming pools. “It’s a public health issue, and in a lot of cases, the owners are nowhere to be found with no contact information,” he said. Robert Romaire, University aquaculture resident director, said he was a little surprised when he learned about the project. “Nobody had very large supplies of [mosquitofish],” he said. “They tried neighboring states, but they’re not widely sold by producers.” Romaire said mosquitofish are easy to transport and reproduce quickly. Sackett said each mosquitofish eats about 100 water-born larvae a day. “When the mosquitoes are gone, these fish will eat on algae and eat on plant and animal materials,” he said. Romaire said there are no negative consequences to using mosquitofish. “Once people want to reclaim their homes and clean their pools, they’re easy to get rid of,” he said. In addition to the AgCenter, the New Orleans Mosquito and Termite Control Board contacted several volunteer groups like Operation Blessing to assist in the project. “They were all really excited to help,” Sackett said. Sackett said volunteer groups also aid in mosquito reduction by draining standing water where mosquitoes breed. “They do so much more than just going in and treating swimming pools,” he said. Schexnayder said New Orleans is also using several other methods to control the mosquito population in the area including fog trucks and airplanes that spray large areas. “They’ve been doing everything in their power to keep the mosquito population in check,” he said. “They’ve been doing everything under the sun with their resources.”
—–Contact Angelle Barbazon at [email protected]