Tick disease task force hearing set for Wednesday
Suffolk County will hold its first public hearing on a new Tick & Vector-Borne Disease Task Force from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Southold Town Recreation Center on Peconic Lane in Peconic.
Suffolk County Legislator Ed Romaine pitched the idea for the new task force at a Southold Town Board meeting in August.
Mr. Romaine said at that time that he is trying to get the county to treat ticks as a “vector” insect, or a type of insect that transmits disease. Currently, the county’s vector control program focuses on controlling mosquito populations.
He said he’d also like the task force to focus on what can be done to control the deer population.
A similar task force was formed several years ago to help residents who have Lyme disease, but not specifically to work on controlling the bugs that spread the disease.
