Repellant crews low on cash - KNOE 8 News; KNOE-TV; KNOE.com |

MONROE, La. (KNOE 8 News) -The Ouachita Abatement District is getting almost a half-million dollars to help fight off west nile. A board under the parish police jury gave the crew a thumbs up to help pay for more ground and aerial spraying.

A Monroe man,living with the virus,says the money is heavily needed.

"All of a sudden I got bit on the leg by several of them at one time, he said."

Five years ago, Edward Cheek became a target for several potentially deadly bugs.

"The version of it was the most severe,"Cheek said.

Cheek is a victim of the mosquito borne illness, the west nile virus.

"But I survived it, thank the lord," Cheek said.

The Ouachita Abatement District is continuing to beef up their efforts to prevent the virus from spreading,since one person in the parish became a victim this year. Crews are on a weekly mission testing mosquito pools and spraying neighborhoods on the ground and in the air. And all of that work, carry's a hefty price tag.

"We're almost at the end of our chemical budget and the contract cost budget because of all the aerial applications we've been doing."

Abatement Director Shannon Rider says in Ouachita Parish, alone,crews have tackled more than 460,000 acres. The district coughs up about a $1.50 per acre.

"this year is extremely, extremely high. The virus is everywhere," the director said.

The group is getting the thumbs up to dig into their surplus for about a half-million dollars to not run dry in their efforts of fighting the bite.

And in Cheek's case, he hopes the bugs with the illness won't bite him again.

"I'm a lot more cautious than I was then," Cheek said. 

Cheek now suffers from memory loss. And he says the when he first got the virus, he had a really bad headache for about a week.