#Hurricane Laura unleashes swarms of livestock-killing mosquitoes

This Sept. 2, 2020, photo provided by veterinarian Craig Fontenot of Ville Platte, La., shows deer at a ranch where they were killed by hordes of mosquitoes.
AP

Just in case 2020 wasn’t catastrophic enough, livestock — cows, horses and deer — in Louisiana are falling victim to a biblical plague of mosquitoes unleashed by Hurricane Laura.

“They’re vicious little suckers,” veterinarian Craig Fontenot told the AP about the insect scourge, which descended upon the Ville Platte community in a “thick cloud.”

As a result, 300 to 400 cows have perished since Aug. 27, and  “there’s a lot on the verge of dying,” the vet told LSU AgCenter. If that wasn’t calamitous enough, several horses have also succumbed to the bugs and a deer farmer lost 30 of his 110 livestock, valued at around $100,000 total.

Fontenot attributed the animals’ deaths to mosquito-induced blood loss and exhaustion caused by constantly moving to avoid the oppressive insect clouds.

“They can’t get enough oxygen,” Fontenot added of their plight, which was reportedly caused by an unprecedented bloodsucker boom. According to LSU AgCenter agents, the mosquitoes invaded the region after being displaced from the salt marshes by Hurricane Laura.

Fortunately, cattle owners have been able to thin their buggy numbers by crop-dusting their pastures with pesticide. Meanwhile, AgCenter extension veterinarian Dr. Christine Navarre said that ranchers can mitigate the mosquito swarms by applying steer-safe insecticides to their livestock.

“Basically, there are many products that can be applied to the animals, either in a spray, spot-on or with back rubs,” she said. “It will depend on what is available locally and what works for the situation.”

Unfortunately, steer-sucking parasites aren’t the only cause for concern in wake of Hurricane Laura. Since making landfall Aug. 27, the storm system caused 27 deaths and power outages affecting up to 300,000 people across Texas and Louisiana.

Meanwhile, Florida beaches have been turned into putrid graveyards of rotting sea creatures washed ashore by the cyclone.