BUZZING MYRIADS

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 187, 28 October 1927, Page 16

BUZZING MYRIADS

WAR ON MOSQUITOES BREEDING IN REFUSE DUMPS IN Auckland mosquitoes breed in unbelievable numbers in water j contained in old boots, broken j bottles, old tins, and discarded | household utensils, lying in many gullies and other places where refuse has been dumped. This was an assertion made to the City Council last evening by the Auckland Mosquito Control Committee, which considered that the mosquito nuisance in the city could be considerably decreased by the simple method of clearing out these dumps, or forcing the owners to clean them up. The committee was emphatically against the leaving of the rubbish in the dumps in a condition that would enable it to retain water. The committee offered to lend the city the services of its research officer, Mr. D. H. Graham, to assist in directing the cleaning-up work. The chief sanitary inspector considered the committee’s report of value, and suggested that the council might use Mr. Graham and pay his salary for six weeks. Special attention could then be given to inspection and cleaning up. Whether the council had the funds to do a great deal this year remained to be seen. He pointed out that the street catch-pits were treated, at the proper time of the year, with larvicide. The Works Committee of the council will inquire further into the position.