Blessed are the Creusois and their department chosen by the heavens to be the only one in New Aquitaine where the tiger mosquito is absent. Sole, the Pyrénées-Atlantiques should not have the favors of Creuse and the horrible tiger swarms there, particularly in areas with high urban concentration. Thus from Billère, commune of the Paloise agglomeration, where an innovation started this spring, a “weather for mosquitoes”.
“I wanted us to set up an alert system on the city territory, on the Libourne model”, a pioneer in the matter in 2023, explains the mayor, Arnaud Jacottin. The bulletin works with a color, green, orange or red code, and is accompanied by a recall of the right gestures to be carried out in the event of the risk of mosquito proliferation. In this case, it is mainly a question of hunting at all stagnant water points, however small. In a watering can for example, a cup of flowers or the folds of a tarpaulin …
The bulletin is issued every week. “We have placed 12 mosquito traps that we note every Friday, which allows us to check if there is a progression of the hatching of the eggs or not,” explains the councilor. We combine this data with weather forecasts and ambient humidity. This allows us to predict the risk of hatching over a few days. »»
Refer the device
This first weather for Billère mosquitoes is “an experiment, so that good behavior enter the mores. The next step will be to be able to establish a card that will refine the results according to the areas. Even if we live in a very dense city, there are not necessarily the same moments of hatching between the top and the bottom ”.
When the bulletin enters red phase and egg hatching is to be expected, “it is necessary to set up a set of measures to be applied individually, to allow the populations of mosquitoes to stem. There are places where you can no longer spend the evening in your garden. It is a real calamity. »»
The last bulletin, issued on June 26, displayed an orange alert. It is recommended to “strengthen vigilance and scrupulously apply the right gestures once a week”.
More info on Billere.fr/actualite/la-meteo-du-moustique
