Mozzie spray idea swatted

By Bridget Brady
TOORADIN’S mosquito problem won’t be swatted anytime soon.
Casey council on Tuesday night were due to quash the option of spraying the mosquito breeding ground of Tooradin and surrounding coastal towns to alleviate the mozzie dilemma.
The large number and size of mozzies have driven residents mad for years, with this month declared as the worst conditions for mosquitoes in about 15 years.
The council said it was unlikely to receive funding for the spray because the area was considered a low public health risk in relation to the spread of disease.
The high cost of spraying, about $250,000 a year, and the unlikely chance government departments would approve to spray in the environmentally significant areas, were other reasons for the decision, the council said.
“Regular spraying would reduce the nuisance but have limited effectiveness unless adjoining municipalities and local land owners participated,” the council report stated.
“Numbers of mosquitoes may not necessarily equate to increased risk of disease as virus may not be prevalent in this area to survive local conditions.”
A targeted community education campaign would be a more suitable option, the council said.
But Tooradin resident Colin Butler said they were just excuses, and he said he didn’t believe a spray would damage the environmentally sensitive areas. Mr Butler said the community had called for a spray for years.
“As far as I’m concerned, council should be in a position to spray by now,” Mr Butler said.
According to the Department of Health, there has been just one confirmed case of mosquito transmitted virus in Casey since 2008, which was in Pearcedale.
But Mr Butler said he could recall other earlier cases and rejected the notion the coastal villages were a low risk area.
“There’s nothing to say somebody couldn’t come back as a carrier (of a disease) and spread it,” he added.
Mr Butler urged the council to continue pushing for a spray, despite the low chance of approval from environmental departments.
“At the moment anybody who wears a pair of shorts looks like they’ve got measles,” he said.