West Nile - Get Used to It!

USSfN:  9/1/02 - Officials are now acknowledging that there is little that they can do to stop the spread of West Nile "plague" that is sweeping across the South.  There are now over 200 confirmed cases here in Louisiana and the death toll continues to rise.  The Air Force was ready to send down C-130 transport aircraft  laden with insecticide to aid in the war effort against the mosquitoes but are now on hold. 

The lack of expediency here is now showing up in the numbers...and in the obituaries.  I'm not sure whether or not "bureaucratic red tape" can be listed as a cause of death, but perhaps it should be considered.  We're now approaching the one year "anniversary" of the horrific events of 9/11/2001 and yet we're still engaged in a air war on our own soil.  The enemy isn't hijacking commercial aircraft and they're not targeting American icons.  Rather, these are winged insects that up until recent years have been dismissed as annoyances.  Now YOU are their target.

We, as fishermen, put ourselves at risk every time we near the water and adjacent land.  As we venture into the breeding grounds of these blood sucking killers, it's important that we take as many precautions as possible to avoid contact with them.  You might consider it a covert mission in this war:  go in, catch the fish, release the fish, and get out without being detected. 

So, what's the battle plan?  First, we need to avoid the times when enemy movement is at it's highest - dawn and dusk.  Full body armor probably won't help here, but long sleeves and perhaps a head net will stop some of them.  We already know that the enemy has biological weapons, so we need nothing less.  DEET, for those of us that will use it, can be very effective.  However, there are now natural alternatives to DEET on the market.  Skeeter Defeater is a line of All Natural Soaps containing essential oils that are recognized as natural repellents. Varieties include Citronella, Cedarwood, Clove, Geranium, Lemongrass and Peppermint.