Flies attack Essex County Courthouse

By LOHR McKINSTRY
Staff Writer

March 30, 2008 04:00 am

— ELIZABETHTOWN -- Essex County lawmakers are preparing to attack an infestation of flies at the County Courthouse.
County Judge Richard Meyer alerted them to the problem, Supervisor Thomas Scozzafava (R-Moriah) said.
"There seems to be a huge problem with the infestation of flies. There was also a problem back in 2007 in regards to the fly infestation."
He said the county has to do something before the flies take over the courthouse.
County Manager Clifford Donaldson Jr. said Aardvark Pest Control was called last year by County Purchasing Agent James Pierce to deal with the flies.
"He (Pierce) had them come down and address that issue."
Supervisor Noel Merrihew III (R-Elizabethtown) said flooding the courthouse with deadly fumes isn't the best way to eradicate the flies.
"The idea of just bombing the facility on a regular basis presents some real health sensitivities there, in case you have pregnant women and things like that."
County Department of Public Works Superintendent Frederick Buck said experts say fumigation is ineffective, and he suggested just letting them fly away.
"They (experts) suggested not bombing. Open the windows."
Merrihew said Buck has been handling the problem.
"Fred has been intimately involved in this on an ongoing basis. The original treatment that seemed to be most effective was a springtime-summer treatment that addressed the ground itself outside the facility, and I think that probably would be our best bet," Merrihew said.
Cluster flies have responded to that method before, Buck said.
"That is going to be done again, three or four times a year treatment."
Supervisor Roby Politi (R-North Elba) said his town called Orkin to attack the flies from the outside.
"Springtime and November usually are the hatch times. The best thing to do is to treat the outside of the building rather than the inside of the building, and actually Orkin does have a product now that seems to work very, very well. The product that works is an outside product; it is not necessarily bombing the interior of the house."
He said Aardvark might have access to the same chemical.
Supervisor Joyce Morency (R-St. Armand) said cluster flies are common this time of year.
"I think that everybody has them in their house, too, this time of year. They are terrible."
Scozzafava joked that he knows of an interim solution until the outside application can be applied.
"In the meantime, buy him (Meyer) some fly swatters."
lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com