DUSTING TARGETS INFECTED FLEAS.Byline: TOM SHARPE Tom Sharpe (born March 30, 1928) is an English satirical author, born in London and educated at Lancing College and at Pembroke College, Cambridge. After National Service he moved to South Africa in 1951, doing social work and teaching in Natal, until deported in 1961. A city contractor has begun applying insecticide on public land along Siringo Road to eradicate plague-carrying fleas that have caused the deaths of one squirrel and four prairie dogs so far this summer. Robert Wood There are have been several people named Robert Wood:
Eco Solutions, a city contractor, first applied insecticide to the campus after a dead squirrel there was determined to have plague June 30, but subsequent tests by the state Department of Health "found additional fleas very deep in the ground, so we decided to dust it again," Wood said. Today and possibly Friday, depending on weather conditions, another city contractor, Critter Control, will continue to apply the insecticide Delta Dust, also called deltamethlin, on 38-acre Franklin Miles Park, which is surrounded by office buildings and homes. "We're working at it in a military fashion," Wood said. "In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , we've cleared the properties that surround Franklin Miles, so now we can go into Franklin Miles and eliminate the flea problem there without worrying about it escaping outside those boundaries." Wood said the insecticide is being applied in a .05-percent solution because fleas are easy to kill and so the prairie dogs will not be affected adversely. He said the four plague-infected prairie dogs died in isolation after they were removed from Franklin Miles Park in preparation for the installation of a new irrigation irrigation, in agriculture, artificial watering of the land. Although used chiefly in regions with annual rainfall of less than 20 in. (51 cm), it is also used in wetter areas to grow certain crops, e.g., rice. system and elimination of about 20 percent of its turf areas. That relocation had been delayed until after June 15 to give the prairie dogs time to finish their birthing season. The park is expected to be closed for the rest of the summer and into the early fall to allow completion of the $1.3 million project. The city has purchased 125 pounds of Delta Dust to use on the Siringo Road area and possibly on prairie dog burrows in other city parks this summer, Wood said. Wood said that contrary to some beliefs, plague is difficult for humans to contract, but he urged people to use flea-control products on pets and prevent them from roaming, keep animal feed in rodent-proof containers and get rid of junk piles and abandoned vehicles around homes. If you experience symptoms of plague -- fever, chills, headache, muscle pain, weakness and sometimes tender and swollen lymph nodes Lymph nodes Small, bean-shaped masses of tissue scattered along the lymphatic system that act as filters and immune monitors, removing fluids, bacteria, or cancer cells that travel through the lymph system. in the groin, armpit arm·pit n. The hollow under the upper part of the arm below the shoulder joint, bounded by the pectoralis major, the latissimus dorsi, the anterior serratus muscles, and the humerus, and containing the axillary artery and vein, the infraclavicular part or neck -- consult a physician immediately. So far this year, four New Mexicans, including three in Santa Fe County, have contracted plague. One 8-year-old boy died from the disease. Contact Tom Sharpe at 986-3080 or tsharpe@sfnewmexican.com. |
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