BATON ROUGE - The East Baton Rouge Office Mosquito Abatement and Rodent Control was recently awarded a huge federal grant.

According to a release, the organization was awarded a $500,000 to purchase an industrial shredder. According to Councilmembers Matt Watson and Tara Wicker, the shredder is going to help with the fight against blight.

Along with helping get rid of blight, the shredder may also decrease the number of mosquitos by eliminating the tires they use to nest. 

"MARC has mapped 109 waste tire piles containing approximately 8000 tires, but we all know there are many more than that across our community," said Todd W. Walker, PhD., Director EBRP Mosquito Abatement and Rodent Control. "A single tire can produce very large numbers of mosquitoes in a short period of time. In terms of disease prevention, shredding a single tire eliminates countless future mosquitoes and saves money by eliminating the need for future spraying."

Watson demonstrated a similar shredder early this year promoting ways to deal with the city's overflowing blight.