HISTORY

Established on April 18, 1968, the earliest Mosquito Abatement District within St. Tammany covered only the greater Slidell and Pearl River areas.  During the 1960s, there was a move to transfer many families from other parts of the nation to Louisiana in support of the growing space program. As the first families began to arrive, hordes of mosquitoes confronted them. This made it nearly impossible to perform any normal outdoor activities such as grocery shopping, visiting friends, or even going to work. Additionally, it was impossible to enjoy outdoor recreational activities such as sporting events, barbecues, and parties. Although local citizens tolerated this environment, incoming families from parts of the nation with few or no mosquitoes could not. Word began to spread, and it became increasingly difficult to hire people to move to the area. 

A few key individuals working with St. Tammany Parish, the NASA Stennis Space Station, the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility, and the recently formed New Orleans Mosquito Control Board established the St. Tammany Parish Mosquito Abatement District. It won the approval of the voters by a ninety (90%) percent vote to levy and collect a 5-mil property tax for a ten-year period. The District was launched with a first-year budget and income of $100,000.

The same mosquito problem existed in other wards of St. Tammany Parish, which bordered the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. However, the longtime residents and the few new families elected to endure the mosquito nuisance, rather than vote a tax to bring in mosquito control.

By 1993, the influx of new families intolerant to mosquitoes in Lacombe, Covington, and Mandeville reached a point where the necessary tax to provide for control was approved. Madisonville approved the tax in 2000, and by 2001 the remaining areas of St. Tammany had voted overwhelmingly in support of Mosquito Abatement. The District now encompasses all of St. Tammany Parish.