The last time anyone sprayed for mosquitoes citywide was 10 years ago.

Tuesday, August 01, 2000

The last time anyone sprayed for mosquitoes citywide was 10 years ago. The next time could be as early as next week, if council members approve the expenditure at Monday’s Austin City Council meeting.

If Airport committee and council members Dick Chaffee, Dick Lang and Roger Boughton are any indication, the vote Monday will be unanimous.

"The flower baskets are fine, but if people can’t stay outside long enough to enjoy them, then what’s the point," Third Ward council member Dick Lang said.

City Engineer Jon Erichson said the Department of Health had OK’d a series of ground sprayings, and told the committee members that – if council decided to approve the spraying – it should be done as soon as possible to get the maximum benefit.

Erichson cautioned that spraying wouldn’t please everyone, even advocates.

"It was a program that it was very difficult to determine the effectiveness of," Erichson said. "One of the criticisms we would hear was ‘you didn’t drive down my street.’ We don’t drive down every street, we use the wind to disperse it."

The two main drawbacks to spraying, Erichson said, were that it only affects the adult mosquitoes – the next hatching easily revives the population – and that mosquitoes can migrate up to 10 miles.

"They have an extensive program in the metro area, but I understand it extends out quite a way" Erichson said. "We would just be spraying in the Austin city limits."

All three council members present for the discussion were supportive of the idea as long as the spraying wouldn’t pose a health hazard. While Lang was supportive of budgeting yearly for spraying, the other two weren’t as enthusiastic about a yearly program.

"If we had a really dry year, we wouldn’t need to," Chaffee said. "Considering the flooding and all the rainfall that we’ve had, now is probably a good time (to spray)."

The bid for a cycle of three sprayings – received Friday by the city – was $17,600.

No cases of mosquito-borne human illnesses have been reported in the Austin.