Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/03/france.wildlife?gusrc=rss&feed=worldnews
France fears plague of mosquitoes in Med resorts
* Alasdair Sandford in Paris
* The Guardian,
* Saturday May 3 2008
Authorities in southern France fear a possible mosquito invasion in tourist resorts this summer and blame EU regulations which prevent them from using the most efficient insecticide.
The area affected runs from the Camargue down to the Spanish border. Agents from the EID, the Entente interd?partementale de d?moustication which clears thousands of hectares of marshland each year, say the new rules are forcing them to carry out this year's operation in record time, and with no guarantee of success, following recent rain.
For the first time since the early 1960s they cannot use temephos - a pesticide now banned by the European Union. Instead the EID says it is obliged to turn to a bacterium considered to be more environment-friendly, but which experts argue leaves little margin for error.
In the 1950s millions of mosquitoes inhabited what were then coastal marshlands, before the development of large purpose-built resorts such as La Grande-Motte and Le Cap d'Agde.
The EID stresses it is "not panicking" about any potential reduction of tourist numbers. Bernard Sauvaire, head of the regional tourism chamber, told Le Figaro. "The EID's operations have always been successful. We're simply much more alert," he said.
Whereas simple contact with temephos was enough to kill the larvae, one agent explained that BTI had to be ingested within a specific time period to be effective. "If it doesn't work, we can't re-do the treatment because it's already too late," he said.
Six low-flying planes - three times the usual number - are complementing the work of dozens of spraying vehicles, including amphibious caterpillars and 4-wheel drive motorbikes.
Christian Jean, the EID chairman, said he hoped the extra planning would help "avoid catastrophe".
France fears plague of mosquitoes in Med resorts
* Alasdair Sandford in Paris
* The Guardian,
* Saturday May 3 2008
Authorities in southern France fear a possible mosquito invasion in tourist resorts this summer and blame EU regulations which prevent them from using the most efficient insecticide.
The area affected runs from the Camargue down to the Spanish border. Agents from the EID, the Entente interd?partementale de d?moustication which clears thousands of hectares of marshland each year, say the new rules are forcing them to carry out this year's operation in record time, and with no guarantee of success, following recent rain.
For the first time since the early 1960s they cannot use temephos - a pesticide now banned by the European Union. Instead the EID says it is obliged to turn to a bacterium considered to be more environment-friendly, but which experts argue leaves little margin for error.
In the 1950s millions of mosquitoes inhabited what were then coastal marshlands, before the development of large purpose-built resorts such as La Grande-Motte and Le Cap d'Agde.
The EID stresses it is "not panicking" about any potential reduction of tourist numbers. Bernard Sauvaire, head of the regional tourism chamber, told Le Figaro. "The EID's operations have always been successful. We're simply much more alert," he said.
Whereas simple contact with temephos was enough to kill the larvae, one agent explained that BTI had to be ingested within a specific time period to be effective. "If it doesn't work, we can't re-do the treatment because it's already too late," he said.
Six low-flying planes - three times the usual number - are complementing the work of dozens of spraying vehicles, including amphibious caterpillars and 4-wheel drive motorbikes.
Christian Jean, the EID chairman, said he hoped the extra planning would help "avoid catastrophe".
