CDC Global / CC
Swarms of mosquitos terrorized livestock in southwest Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Laura, causing the deaths of horses, deer, and cows.
Evangeline Parish Veterinarian Craig Fontenot said the swarms were so thick that they could bite an animal to death, or worse.
“Those mosquitos will just congregate on them and sometimes they can just have so many that they can suffocate them from getting in their noses,” said Fontenot.
The mosquitos swarming livestock can cause the animals to struggle to get enough oxygen as they struggle to remove the mosquitos, and are slowly drained of blood.
Reports indicate a large part of the swarm was pushed out of the marsh by Hurricane Laura. Fontenot said that plus the rains that came after made a tough situation worse.
“There’s so much area that was wet and moist that it does not take a lot for these mosquitos, their eggs are in the ground and sometimes it just needs rain for them to be set off, and that is what we had,” said Fontenot, who added in Evangeline Parish alone he estimates 40 to 60 head was lost.
Fontenot said the swarm is likely going to cost ranchers more than just their initial losses.
“We may lose some, and then some of the cattle that we have may be so stressed out that they just abort calves,” said Fontenot.
In recent days parish governments have begun running mosquito planes over affected areas, making the problem less severe.
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