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Mosquito spray to cover Chesterfield County after Hurricane Florence

CHESTERFIELD, S.C. — Hurricane Florence dumped 22 inches of rain on Cheraw, 19 inches on Chesterfield and more than 10 inches on the Pageland area. The storm caused massive flooding, damaged roads and knocked out power.

An abundance of mosquitoes spawned in Chesterfield County.

[After Florence, NC communities work to keep mosquitoes at bay]

"You can't spend a lot of time outside, that's for sure," said Chester County Emergency Management Director Harold Hainey. "That's why the county is taking action.”

Chesterfield County contracted with Gregory Pest Solutions of Greenville for about $45,000.  The company will work from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. beginning Wednesday evening and will spray across the county for six days. The spraying is being done after dark, so the spray doesn't interfere with honeybee colonies.

Chris Reynolds said he's glad to see something being done about the mosquito infestation.

"That's a lot of area to cover, but if they can get it done, that would be great," he said.

The county decided to spray after complaints flooded into the 911 center and have not let up.

"This is monumental to take this on," Hainey said. "We have to do this and get this problem taken care of."

The county looked at doing an aerial spray, but the quote was about $1 million.

Officials said there is no danger from the chemical they'll use, but it's not a bad idea to bring pets indoors and not leave water and food bowls out overnight.

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