Are we also going to have to confine ourselves to the house to avoid tiger mosquito bites? To avoid this double coronavirus-mosquito punishment, the town hall has just launched a mosquito control operation twice as large as in previous years. “Faced with the proliferation of tiger mosquitoes that our municipality has suffered in recent years, an earlier treatment will be carried out in 2020. Several one-week operations will take place from April to October, 50% more than in previous years, explains Marie-Claude Berly, assistant in charge of the environment. We received a lot of complaints from citizens last summer and asked the prefect in the fall to deal with this growing problem in Montauban. A letter that went unanswered. ” The town hall had even hit the nail in October by opening an online petition asking the signatories to locate the neighborhood where they live. “We received 1,000 signatures from the town hall and 1,500 posts on Facebook, says the elected official. It would have been much easier for us if one of the districts had been more concerned. But none of them stood out. The whole city , in rural areas or in hyper-centers is affected by the insect. ”
Everyone must act at their level
Since April 8, a first anti-larval treatment (Bacillus thuregiensis) has therefore been applied to all communal ditches, 300 km in rural areas, retention basins, green flows, such as public gardens. This year, the places of treatment have been increased at Cours Foucault, at the Parc de la Roseraie, at the Jardin des Plantes… “But it is essential that each of us acts at our level, to be effective all together. In Montauban, a veritable town in the countryside, there are many green spaces, between private gardens and nearby farms. – say to regularly eliminate all standing water. “
This is also the time to carry out anti larval treatment in our green spaces, because it is by coordinating them with those of the City that the treatments are particularly effective! “You can help us by spraying a Bacillus thuregiensis (Bt) type product,” adds Marie-Bérangère Laporte, director of the municipal hygiene and public health service. It can easily be found in shops, especially in garden centers. “
Equipment under test
The municipality has also just received 6 “mosquito vacuum cleaners” which will soon be installed to protect the courtyards of municipal crèches. “A test of a mosquito vacuum cleaner will be carried out at a private home, specifies Marie-Claude Berly. Depending on its efficiency, the town hall could place orders to equip other spaces.” City-coordinated group purchases could also be offered if the system proves effective. The purchase of such a machine is around 160 € and a CO2 cartridge (22 €) has to be changed every two months.
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