April 23, 2009 12:15 AM By Len Kiesel
DOUGHERTY COUNTY, GA (WALB) - If you hear some buzzing outside your home, that's a good thing. County sprayers are working late into the night seven days a week to get rid of pesky mosquitoes in Atlanta. All that rain early this Spring resulted in hundreds of complaints about the pests all over Dougherty County. Flooded neighborhoods are getting hit the hardest. Boat was the method of transportation some weeks ago after torrential downpours in Dougherty County. In some neighborhoods it seems like not much has changed. "We had a tremendous amount of standing water," said Radium Springs homeowner Tony Conley. Some homes along Radium Springs Road are still surrounded by water. Conley says that's not all they're dealing with. "I noticed that the mosquitoes have picked up quite a bit," said Conley.
The increase is adding irritating insult to injury. "With the extra mosquitoes, it just made matters twice as bad," said Conley. Twice as bad mosquito conditions have environmental control folks working twice as hard. "The mosquitoes are keeping me pretty busy. We're working seven days a week," said Dougherty County Environmental Control Director Mathis. Four sprayers are hitting the streets five hours each night. Between 6:30 and 11:30, you'll see them around town. "That's the time when mosquitoes are active," said Mathis. The recent rain has caused mosquito problems they haven't experienced in quite a while. The standing water is the perfect breeding environment. "But we're doing the things we need to do to combat the problem," said Mathis. Crews are attacking them by water and by air. Meanwhile, they're asking residents to be patient. "We're undergoing changes we haven't seen in a very long time and we know everybody wants to be sprayed but we can't spray everybody at the same time so we're just asking people to be patient. Just wait a little while and we will be around to spray those areas," said Mathis.
The spraying is a welcome sight for residents like Conley. "I've seen the trucks come through spraying the spray. I'm not certain if it works or not but of course I was glad to see them," said Conley. He might as well get used to seeing them. It looks like the water is taking it's sweet time going away. You can also help curb the mosquito problem by dumping out water from containers in your yard. Also protect yourself by contacting a mosquito control professional in Atlanta about automated mosquito misting systems or regular scheduled yard spraying.