Massive Swarms of Mosquitoes Kill Livestock After Hurricane Laura Hits

Swarms of mosquitoes in Louisiana have left hundreds of cattle and some horses dead.

WWLTV reports that, according to experts in southwest Louisiana, the clouds of mosquitoes became thick from Hurricane Laura, which, after it made landfall on Aug. 27, pushed the insects out of marshes.

Veterinarian Craig Fontenot told the outlet that the mosquitoes drained the animals’ blood and the animals became extremely tired from having to keep moving to avoid getting bitten. 

Fontenot believes that hundreds of cattle and a few horses have been killed in a five-parish area, with reports emerging that several cattle owners have lost as many as eight animals, and three horses have also died from the mosquitoes.

“There’s a lot on the verge of dying,” Fontenot said. Spraying has started to weaken the swarms of mosquitoes. 

The Category 4 hurricane came ashore in late August near the Texas state line, ripping through parts of the state and parts of Louisiana with sustained winds of 150 mph, ultimately killing six in Louisiana. It was later downgraded to a tropical storm, with flooding rainfall and tropical force winds spreading across portions of Arkansas.

Laura tied with an 1856 hurricane for the strongest storm to hit Louisiana. That hurricane from 160 years ago had winds of 150 mph when it made landfall. Hurricane Katrina, from 2005, was a Category 5 when it was over the Gulf of Mexico, but was reduced to a Category 3 when it came ashore.