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Port Richey to declare war on unseen enemy with bug sprayBy MATTHEW WAITE © St. Petersburg Times, published July 28, 2000 PORT RICHEY -- Who says government work doesn't get personal? On May 19, the day before Port Richey's 75th anniversary celebration in the new waterfront park, City Manager Vince Lupo was with city workers and volunteers working out last-minute details. The sun was going down when Lupo started to feel them. "I kept getting feeling like I was getting bit on my arms, but I couldn't see anything," Lupo said Thursday. What he couldn't see are known as "no-see-ums" or biting Midges. The following morning, Lupo said, he had red bumps on his arms from his fingers to the sleeve line on the T-shirt. "I looked like I had chicken pox," he said. The thought of the attack fresh on his mind, Lupo emerged as a somewhat reluctant general in the potential Port Richey war on no-see-ums. At the request of Council member Pat Guttman, Lupo researched and pitched a couple plans that could get the city into the business of killing the tiny pests. At its next meeting, the City Council will have a choice: spend as much as $9,000 to buy the equipment and train a couple of city workers to start spraying, or contract with a company to do the spraying. The city could get started right away, depending on what the council decides. It would take at least a month to train city workers to spray, and in between they could use a contractor, Lupo said. The spray would most likely try to stop the bugs from reproducing. Lupo said there is no way to eliminate the Midges, just limit them. The city isn't interested in taking over the Mosquito Control Board's job, Lupo said, just add to it. The mosquito board doesn't spray for no-see-ums so Port Richey's effort would be an additional bug control effort, Lupo said. "By accident, you'll also be killing mosquitoes," Lupo said. - Staff writer Matthew Waite can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6247 or (800) 333-7505, ext. 6247. His e-mail address is waite@sptimes.com.
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