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Overcast and Breezy Lawrence village tackles its bug problem
Officials say to eliminate standing water
Following the receipt of an Illinois-based company’s report on the source of mosquitoes and their impact in the Village of Lawrence, Mayor Martin Oliner said the wetlands in the back of the village by the Lawrence Yacht & Country Club have been hit the hardest by the pesky insects.
Clarke company, who conducted a three-day survey in June, submitted their report to the Village of Lawrence last month and determined that four different species of bugs inhabit the village — green flies, gnats, mosquitoes and black flies. The work cost $6,000.
According to Oliner, only Nassau County is allowed to spray for bugs so to address the insect issue at the beginning of the summer, the village constructed 80, 4-foot by 3-foot black boxes and placed them in areas where mosquito infestation was the heaviest. The boxes attract the bugs and kills them.
“We use different attractions so the insect flies into the box, gets trapped and ends up in a container,” Oliner said. “The traps cost anywhere from three to five thousand dollars.”
Oliner said he received more than 100 emails from residents who thanked the village for their efforts in tending to the insects.
Rochelle Kevelson, a 31-year Lawrence resident, said though she hasn’t had an issue with mosquitoes this summer or last, another insect plagues the area. “There is a gnat problem; they’re all over,” she said. “They bite and they’re around the bushes, not the water.”
Yasser Walton, a salesman at Hamilton Home & Hardware on Washington Avenue in Lawrence, said many customers come in the store for products that keep the gnats at bay. “They want something to spray around their house and we sell sprays and balms to kill the gnats,” he said. “But more people came in last year.”
Though summer is quickly coming to an end, insects can still be an issue. To ensure that mosquitoes and gnats stay away, Oliner suggests, “Make sure there is no standing water.” Standing water as a small an amount that fits into a bottle cap allows the bugs space to mate, experts say.
