Discuss the ducks
The community is invited to talk to wildlife experts about the large population of mallard ducks in the village and how to control them during the day today in the Ocracoke Community Center.
The drop-in style meeting will from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m.
Dr. Maria Palamar, NCWRC Veterinarian, and her team will be available for an information session. There will also be a representative from the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, wildlife Services (USDA APHIS WS). Special Assistant Hyde County Manager Will Doerfer will also be on hand.
Anyone who is interested in, affected by, or concerned with the ballooning duck population in Ocracoke village is welcome to attend at any time during the day.
If you are a property owner or representative, we are especially hopeful you will attend to find out how you can help mitigate the problems associated with the ducks.
Mosquito board plans seasonal spraying
The Ocracoke Mosquito Control Board is monitoring the spread of Zika virus but is not planning anything extra for this year’s spraying season. The board will meet tonight at 6 p.m. in the Ocracoke Community Center. The meeting is open to the public.
The board is aware of the increased risk, said Justin LeBlanc, board chairman, in an interview.
“We’ve ordered enough chemicals for adequate spraying,” he said. “We are definitely aware of the concerns about the Zika virus.”
He noted that if over spraying occurs, mosquitoes can build a resistance.
Spraying in the village will begin later in the season.
David Hallac, Cape Hatteras National Seashore superintendent, said at a recent OCBA meeting that the Park Service does not spray its lands with mosquito repellent.
David Howard, Hyde County health director, said at the Hyde County commissioner’s meeting Monday night that the mosquito that carries the Zika virus is a short-distance flyer–50 to 100 yards–and that they do better in cities.
He said the state has identified 12 to 15 cases of the virus contracted when the people now infected had traveled and brought it back into the state.
“The biggest issue is pregnancy,” Howard said.
He added that the state has allocated money for increased surveillance of the mosquito, and that they are trying to track its transport in the United States.
Howard was attending his last commissioner’s meeting since he recently resigned to take a job in Bladen County closer to his family.
The commissioners approved the appointment by the Hyde County Board of Health of Luanna Gibbs, a registered nurse, as the interim health director for two months.
I have been vacationing on the OBX for over 20 years, and never have I been bitten as many times as I have last year. Usually, I would get no more than 3 or 4 bites, but last September, I got over 35 bites. I also used more mosquito deterent measures than ever before, but to no avail. I really hope something ‘improved’, can be done about these obnoxious insects.
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