Mosquito Spraying for West Nile Virus Planned for September 15 and 17 in Lower Moreland Township
The Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services Office of Public Health (OPH), after consulting with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) and Lower Moreland Township officials, will be adulticiding (spraying) to control the adult mosquito population in select areas. The spraying will be done where sampling by the OPH and PADEP has shown mosquitoes that carry the West Nile Virus (WNV).
The spray events will occur, weather permitting, on Tuesday, September 15, and Thursday, September 17, 2020, from approximately 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The alternate dates will be Wednesday, September 16, 2020, for the September 15 event and Wednesday, September 23, 2020, for the September 17 event. All areas within the highlighted sections of the attached map will be subjected to the spray. Please see the attached maps. Residents within the spray area should consider remaining indoors, closing windows, and turning off ventilation systems that draw-in outside air for the duration of the spray plus 30 minutes afterward.
Workers will be using Duet duel-action Adulticide at a rate of .75 fluid ounces per acre applied with a truck-mounted Ultra Low Volume (ULV) sprayer. The spray will be performed by OPH personnel.
The OPH will work with appropriate agencies to identify, eliminate and/or treat with larvacide, areas where mosquitoes are breeding. Residents may contact the OPH at 610-278-5117 if they are concerned about an area of standing water that may be breeding mosquitoes. The adult mosquito control program will only be used in limited situations to reduce disease-infected adult mosquitoes.
For further information about the products being used, visit the OPH website at www.montcopa.org/wnvinfo.
Some tips for everyone to do around the home to help eliminate mosquito-breeding areas:
- Identify and eliminate all sources of standing water that collect on your property. Mosquitoes will breed in any stagnant water that lasts for five or more days.
- Dispose of tin cans, plastic containers, ceramic pots, or similar water-holding containers that have collected on your property. Do not overlook containers that have become overgrown by aquatic vegetation.
- Pay special attention to discarded tires that may have collected water on your property. They can serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
- Drill holes in the bottom of recycling containers that are left outdoors. Drainage holes that are located on the sides collect enough water in the container for mosquitoes to breed.
- Have clogged roof gutters cleaned on an annual basis, particularly if the leaves from surrounding trees have a tendency to block drains.
- Turn over plastic wading pools when not in use. A wading pool becomes a place for mosquitoes to breed if it is not used on a regular basis.
- Turn over wheelbarrows and do not allow water to stagnate in birdbaths.
- Aerate ornamental pools or stock them with fish. Water gardens are fashionable but become major mosquito breeding grounds if they are allowed to stagnate.
- Keep swimming pools clean and chlorinated. A swimming pool that is left untended becomes a source of mosquito breeding. Be aware that mosquitoes may even breed in the water that collects on swimming pool covers.
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