Bamberg County issues mosquito alert due to flooding from Debby, two weeks after code red alert

BAMBERG, S.C. (WJBF) – It’s now been two weeks since Bamberg County issued a code red alert following Tropical Storm Debby–but now another issue has come up, and it’s bugging many around the county.

Bamberg always welcomes visitors—except when they’re mosquitoes.

The bugs are typical for this time of year, but people who live there have seen a big increase in mosquitoes because of the rainfall they’ve gotten in recent weeks.

“It’s quite overwhelming for a lot of residents, yes,” said Bamberg PIO Alisha Moore.

Moore says mosquitoes only add to the problems facing the county, following a significant amount of water from Debby.

“I think overall, we probably saw over 20 inches of rain. And a lot of residents saw equally that amount of flooding in their yards, under their homes, in their backyards,” said Moore.

In response, work crews are spraying and treating standing water, but it’s a waiting game to help other parts of the county.

“Residents along the Edisto River Basin are seeing a huge influx of mosquitoes. A lot of the residents who live along dirt roads—where that water still may be standing in some of those areas. Keep in mind that for residents on those dirt roads, we can’t get in there to make any type of repairs until that water completely recedes,” Moore said.

While spraying standing water, there are some places county workers are able to reach.

Farrell Pulaski had to deal with a swarm of mosquitoes while working on one of the nearly 20 roads that are closed due to the storm.

“Oh, it was terrible. Once we’d get done dumping and unloading the trailer, we get back in the truck and it’s full of mosquitoes–you have to roll the windows down to get back to Bamberg,” said Pulaski.

County leaders are urging homeowners to trim overgrown bushes, clean overcrowded yards, and removing buckets, tires, or anything that can hold water.

They’re also encouraging residents to consider hiring a professional exterminator if the mosquitoes become too much to handle.

Moore says though it’s important to protect yourself from mosquitoes, the county also requests that homeowners be respectful of farmers, bees, and beehives.

“We want to make sure that we’re using pesticides that won’t destroy farmers, bees, or beehives for farmers who harvest honey,” Moore said. “We’re just making sure we’re not going to do anything that will negatively impact them.”

She adds that while there is still a lot of uncertains, what they do know is that everyone is working together.

“What happens to one happens to all of us,” said Moore. “Also keep in mind that we only have so much manpower, and we can’t get to everybody at the same time. So just keeping that in mind, everyone being patient, while we all work together to resolve the issues that are going on around us.”

Moore says residents are encouraged to steer clear of dirt roads that are closed, or roads that have yet to receive attention from the county.

She says that anyone with damage should take lots of pictures, and send it to the Bamberg County Government Facebook page.

Once that has been collected, the county plans to report it to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), who is ready to assist homeowners that need help.

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