Crews to Spray Parts of Abington for Mosquitoes

The Montgomery County Health Department will be spraying portions of Abington for mosquitoes on Thursday night.

The spraying will be done where the health department and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection have found mosquitoes that tested positive for West Nile Virus.

Check out the areas highlighted on the maps.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health website, six mosquitoes have tested positive for West Nile Virus this summer in Abington — the most recent being on Sept. 4.

And, a Philadelphia woman was reported yesterday to have West Nile Virus; her “illness onset date” was late July. That brings the total number of Pennsylvanians infected with the virus to five. One of those infected is a Montgomery County man.

The spraying in Abington will take place from about 7:30 to 11 p.m. in the highlighted areas on the map — which includes Ardsley and a large area between Edge Hill and Easton roads. If weather is lousy, the spraying will happen the following Thursday.

Generally speaking, the chemical being sprayed is not harmful to people, but it is suggested that residents go inside (along with pets) and turn off their air conditioning systems while the trucks pass — and for about 30 minutes after the trucks pass.

Pennsylvania DEP spokeswoman Amanda Witman said in an earlier interview that the insecticide being used — Biomist 3+15 — is safe and poses “very little danger” to humans or pets because the concentration being used is so low. The spraying will be at a rate of 0.75 ounces per acre.

“In all honesty, we don’t have a recommendation that people come inside [during the spraying] because the spraying is safe,” Witman said. “It’s going to be done primarily after dark, and we anticipate that most people will already be inside.” 

Witman said the Pennsylvania DEP has never had a case of a human or a pet being affected by the spraying of Biomist; she added that the pesticide degrades quickly in the environment the following day.

Though the chemical targets mosquitoes, Witman said she couldn’t talk on whether other insects would be killed by the chemical.