After the historic flooding, S.C is facing a serious influx in the number of mosquitoes in certain areas. To solve this problem, counties in S.C. will spray for mosquitoes from the air.
It will cost about $39 million to treat all the counties that are supported by the federal emergency declaration. Lawmakers have said that it will cost $1.5 million for each county, which rural areas are unable to afford.
Since several counties won’t be able to afford this, lawmakers are determined to get federal assistance. S.C. lawmakers have said they want the federal government to take on the responsibility of paying to have the affected areas sprayed. However if they don’t, the state will likely have to pay.
The average landing rate of mosquitoes this time of year is four or five per minute. Richland County is paying to have rural areas sprayed where the landing rate has gone up to over 60 per minute, according to TheState.com.
Besides the fact that mosquitoes are annoying pests, another concern is that they could potentially spread the West Nile Virus. There have been no reported cases of the virus yet, but there are fears that it could develop if nothing is done.