Today's the third anniversary of Hurricane Rita making landfall, and this evening Lafayette residents will be buzzed by U.S. Air Force cargo planes as part of a mosquito abatement program for south Louisiana.
Jolie Adams, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, says C-130s will fly over Lafayette Parish between 6:30 and 10:30 p.m., dousing Lafayette with Naled (under the brand name of Dibrom). The EPA notes: "Naled can be used for public health mosquito control programs without posing unreasonable risks to the general population when applied according to the label."
More than 60,000 acres in Lafayette Parish will be sprayed, and Adams notes that the giant planes applying the pesticide could fly as low as a 150 from the ground. "That's pretty low which is why we want everyone to know what's happening. That can be pretty alarming seeing those C-130s flying that low."
Adams adds that beekeepers should take precautions to protect their hives from the spraying.