The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1915-12-02
LETTER FROM DIR JOHNSON
With Reference to the Mosquito
Nuisance I'm Kingstree.

With Reference to the Mosquito
Nuisance In Kingstree.
Editor County Record
Twas delighted to receive your
very earnest letter of the goth inst,
which showed your intense interest
in bettering conditions affecting the
health, comfort and prosperity of
your community; and am very glad
to give you such information as |
am able, regarding particularly the
mosquito nuisance in Kingstree.
One of your physicians took me to
see the septic tank where the city's
sewage is purified. 1t SCENT to be
excellent for that purpose, but un-
fortunately it is also breeding mos
quitoes in large numbers. These are.
of course, an intolerable plague to
your town people. but more import
ant than that, they are a serious
menace to your city's health, because
mosquitoes (and nothing else but
mosquitoes) spread malaria, ague,
chills and fever.
At three of the four outer corners
of the septic tank there were foul
looking pools of water. One of these
contained thousands of young mos
quitoes, or wiggles," as they are
called, which look like very small
wiggling worms. The other pools
had a slight current of moving wa
ter, and so had fewer mosquitoes. |
believe that during the warm wea-
ther there were very much greater
numbers of young mosquitoes in
those pools.
The immediate remedy is kero.
sene oil; one quart of this, poured
over the muck and water of each of
those pools, would kill practically all
of those mosquitoes before they are
old enough to leave the water and
fly about, and it would prevent 9th
ers from developing. This oiling
should be done at once.
The next thing is to get rid alto
gether of those pools of water. |
think that this could be done by
simply hauling in more broken stone
at those points, and by covering the
whole tank with three inches of
coarse gravel, to prevent mosquitoes
from getting to the water to lay
their eggs on it. If possible, how
ever, obtain the opinion of the en-
gineer who constructed the tank.
Third, clean up all brush growing
about the septic tank; and not only
there but in all vacant lots, house
yards. along roads and along the
Branch-in fact. everywhere within
the town limits. l kicked pile of
dead brush at the septic tank anda
swarm of mosquitoes flew out ofthe
brush. Piles of brush and trash fur
nish a safe retreat for the full grown
mosquitoes, where they hide in the
day time from birds and other crea-
lures that would destroy them, and
where many Of them probably pass
the winter, we'll protected. All brush
should be burned after it Is cut.
One of your physicians told me
that the street drainage pipes have
a trap beneath each surface opening.
These should be investigated. and, if
found to contain stagnant water,
they are in all probability breeding
mosquitoes In warm weather all
through the town, right in front of
your houses. They should be oiled
with kerosene after each rain and
once week during droughts. AS
this would be expensive and easily
neglected. the best plan would be to
fiji the ta- up with cement and 81
do away with them. Your sanitary
engineer should be asked for his
opinion, if possible.
Drainage bitches should be broad
at the top. with sloping sides, so that
earth will not fall down and dam up
pools of water in them and so make
them mosquito-breeders.
Lastly, let every citizen see to it
that there are no collections of stag
nant water on his premises, in tin
cans. bottles, buckets or roof cutters.
Energetic !efforts, with patience