HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0714.003 2014-2016 COUNTY CLERK
COUNTY OF HAWAII I
From: Anne Provax <anneprovax@gmail.com> r;vRE�CEIVED
Date: Sun, Mar 13, 2016 at 8:25 PM Time BY
Date 0//6.0 wrX
Subject: Farmers in support of Mosquito Trap Funding
To: counciltestimony@hawaiicounty.gov, Maile David <maile.david@hawaiicounty.gov>
Aloha County Council members,
We support Maile David's proposal to use County Council contingency funds to provide ovitrap
mosquito traps and pesticide refills to residents.
Our immediate neighborhood has had continuous confirmed dengue cases from late September
until recently. We live and work on a 1.5 acre coffee farm on lower Middle Keei Road.
On December 6, 2015, I (Anne) set 12 traps around the outside perimeter of our home, resulting
in an immediate, dramatic and sustained reduction of mosquitoes.Two different DOH teams
visited our property just 10 days later, and could not find any mosquitoes outside of our home.
DOH employees said that neighboring properties still had plenty of mosquitoes despite the dry
weather and reduction of breeding sites. This confirmed my observation that our traps were
working to eliminate the breeding female Aedes mosquitoes and their eggs, thereby preventing
new generations of mosquitoes.
In late January I set 25 additional traps out on the farm, hoping to decrease the mosquito
population on the land before the rainy season and coffee harvesting time.
Why we need funding: To date we have spent $297 on mosquito traps and refills, some
purchased at full price and some at a discount. Refilling these 37 traps will cost an additional
$87 retail every 10 weeks. If we do not receive funding to help with this, our total cost for
mosquito abatement will be $558 for this year. Farms require more traps than residences,
and we farmers need County financial assistance to sustain our efforts to stop the
spread of dengue and other diseases.
Many residents have already shown their willingness to deploy and maintain traps. One hundred
local residents came to an informational meeting about mosquito traps on January 13 at Painted
Church. Over one thousand half-price traps were eagerly purchased by residents at both this
meeting and in a follow-up order organized by Barbara DeFranco of Paleaku Peace Gardens.
If the County decides to fund traps and pesticide refills, financial barriers to using traps
will be reduced or removed, and even more traps can be deployed and refilled
throughout our upcoming rainy season.
Lethal ovitraps have been provided to citizens for mosquito abatement in Australia and other
countries, with research confirming that they are safer and more effective than pesticide
spraying. We believe that ovitraps are a potent addition to our County's integrated pest
management plan.
Mahalo to Maile David for proposing the use of contingency funds to help us in our efforts to use
ovitraps to reduce the number of mosquitoes. Let's all work together to permanently stop the
dengue outbreak, as well as to prevent zika and other mosquito-born diseases.
Mahalo,
Anne Provax 1 \ `1 72
John Provax Comm. No
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