- April 19, 2024
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Updated May 12
With numerous complaints of mosquitoes terrorizing Flagler County's west side, County Administrator Jerry Cameron proposed hiring Anastasia Mosquito Control to help out — sidestepping what he felt were high prices from the local East Flagler Mosquito Control.
Cameron told the County Commission on May 3 that Anastasia Mosquito Control, in St. Johns County, has a new program that uses radiation to sterilize male mosquitoes. When they breed with females, the offspring are then sterile, and the population thins out.
“This is really a great way to address this because there’s no chemicals, no other animals are affected, and it has about an 85% effective rate,” Cameron said.
Residents from Rima Ridge, Espanola and Daytona North (or the Mondex) have been calling the county, asking for relief from the mosquitoes. (Whereas residents east of U.S. 1 are charged a tax to pay for the services of the East Flagler Mosquito Control, residents on the west side do not pay the extra tax and don’t receive the service.)
Cameron said he first went to EFMC but was quoted about $15,000 for initial surveillance, compared with about $9,000 from Anastasia.
However in a May 11 email to the Palm Coast Observer, EFMC Director Mark Positano wrote that he had not received a formal request for proposal or bid so that all entities are giving prices on the same level of service. However, he wrote, “Since the District charges only a reimbursement rate for services, it would follow naturally that since we are closer than St. Johns County our costs would be lower for the same level of service.”
Positano also said the EFMC has had a relationship with the county since 2003 to provide emergency spraying in Espanola, Rima Ridge and Daytona North.
Commissioner Dave Sullivan worried that it would send a demoralizing message to EFMC if Flagler County contracted with Anastasia.
Why not expand EFMC’s mission to cover the entire county in the future? he asked.
Commissioner Joe Mullins emphasized the urgency of providing relief on the west side, which is the area he represents.
“I get countless emails from the west side, showing pictures of kids eaten up by mosquitoes,” he said. A comprehensive solution is necessary, he said, because the mosquitoes can simply travel from one unsprayed area to another.
“We’ve got to get this done,” Mullins said.
Commission Chairman Donald O’Brien said that, although mosquito season began May 1, he preferred to get more information first, and persuaded Cameron to add the item to the next commission agenda.
Commissioner Greg Hansen added, “And have the mosquito control people here.”
Positano told the Palm Coast Observer that as of May 12, he had not yet been invited but would be happy to talk with the county.
