Army worms take over Bong

-Dr. Logan alarms

The head of the Bong County Health Team, Dr. Gorbee Logan, has alarmed that army worms have engulfed the county, taking over 12 towns and three districts. Speaking in an interview on Thursday, 6 July Dr. Logan said the caterpillars have advanced from Zota to Salala, usually from Dioma trees and then spreading in towns.

He noted that since the outbreak, they have been working with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health to make sure the worms are sprayed. He said, out of 12 towns that have been attacked by the army worms, only two have been sprayed with pesticide, but added the maggots are speedily moving from town to town.

Dr. Logan stressed the need for the Government of Liberia through the Ministries of Health and Agriculture to intensify spraying of pesticides in various towns, saying “government needs to increase the motorised

spray to six and the local spray to twelve so that the work can go on at once in all the affected towns.”

He explained the army worms in Bong have grown wings and they fly from one area to another. He said they sprayed school buildings and other areas in the towns.  The Liberian Doctor also emphasized government needs to do something urgently to get rid of the caterpillars because they are harmful to human health and moving rapidly.
This is not the first attack by army worms in the central Liberian county. Between 2008 and 2009, they similarly invaded the county, destroying farms and agriculture products, causing the government of Liberia and partners to spend huge sums of money on pesticides and other safety measures to get the destructive creatures out. Editing by Jonathan Browne