VICTORIA FALLS Municipality has embarked on an extensive mosquito spraying programme targeting homes and hotels, as part of measures to control malaria.
By Nokuthaba Dlamini
Council’s public health officer, Tongai Ncube, said the local authority was using several methods to control the mosquito population in the tourist resort town, such as fogging and larviciding.
“We call upon all residents to allow us to access their homes for the purposes of spraying mosquitos.
“The programme works effectively if all residential places are covered.
“We will be using a chemical called pyrethroid that even kills flees and cockroaches…” read part of council’s statement.
Fogging involves the application of an insecticide to reduce the adult mosquito population, while larviciding entails destroying mosquito larvae in stagnant water.
Ncube said they were also targeting sewer ponds removing hyacinth, a weed which promotes the breeding of mosquitoes.
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“So far, two of the three ponds have been removed and this is because of waste water surrounding the area,” he said.
The council’s mosquito spraying programme has been met with mixed feelings, with some residents saying it was ineffective, as they were having challenges with the pests even after spraying.
Some residents last year blocked council teams from spraying their houses, claiming the chemical- Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was ineffective.
