Members of the St Michael North West Constituency council launched an attack on rats and mosquitoes in two communities yesterday.
The attack took the form of literature, mosquito pellets and rat bait which council members distributed to residents in the Brandons and Bird’s River districts.
The constituency council’s chairman of the environmental committee, Cecil Gill, told the Sunday Sun the walk-through of the areas was an attempt to reduce or eliminate the instances of dengue, Zika and chikungunya, as well as reduce the rodent population.
He said there had been an increase in mosquitoes as a result of the recent heavy rains and “we have been trying to get the mosquito population down”.
“So far everybody has appreciated it and some said they had unfortunately bought some rat bait, but they would still take some,” he said.
Gill said another prong in the attack on the pests would be education as the eight members of the constituency council and the environmental health officer also handed out literature to the residents.
The leaflets informed people how to bait rats; how to protect their homes from rodents by removing access points like holes; the proper disposal of food waste, and the protection of children from the bait. The literature also revealed the signs and symptoms of dengue and Zika. (HLE)
