Spring is here, and with it, pollen has taken over Southwest Louisiana

LAKE CHARLES, LA (KPLC) - If you’ve been outside recently, you probably noticed that things are starting to bloom and with that comes pollen.

It seems like everything is covered in pollen—from the roads and sidewalks, to our homes and cars.

“Like my truck right there; I washed it yesterday. And woke up this morning, the pollen’s all over it again," Jonny Johnson said.

Johnson is the manager at Don’s Carwash on Nelson Road in Lake Charles. He said Spring is always their busiest season and that proved to be true on Saturday as cars lined up waiting to be washed.

“Just washing my truck, it’s really dirty, and yeah, we’ve been having a lot of pollen here in the last few weeks," said Ricky Estep, a customer at Don’s. "So, you gotta kinda do it every few weeks to get all that off.”

While the pollen is an inconvenience, for many, it’s also a little more sinister.

“It’s horrible, and we have one—he’s severely allergic to everything under the sun. So, I try to keep it as clean as I can; the car, but he stays with red eyes," said Jessica Savoie, another Don’s customer.

According to pollen.com, almost all of Louisiana is currently in the red with it’s pollen count.

In Lake Charles, the allergy report places us at ‘high,’ with the top allergens being oak, fir and grasses.

“You see a lot of it on the cement and on certain areas; like on your lawn chairs outside and everything, and it’s pretty bad this year," said Estep.

It doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere anytime soon. So, for now, your best bet is to grab a bucket and a sponge and get to scrubbing.

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