Whitpain To Get Adulticide Treatment After West Nile Mosquitoes Found

WHITPAIN, PA — Whitman Township is the latest Montgomery County community to be hit with chemical spraying after another round of positive West Nile Virus tests were found on mosquitoes in the area, the county Department of Health said.

Spraying will occur next Tuesday, Aug. 26 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. in the area between North Wales Road, W. Township Line Road, Yost Road, and Lafayette Way.

Whitpain follows Abington and Pottstown as communities to receive treatment in recent days as state officials say the risk of West Nile is currently "very high" in most counties in Pennsylvania.

Related: West Nile Virus Activity Soars In Montgomery Co., Around PA

County employees will use a Duet duel-action adulticide product sprayed at a rate of 0.75 fluid ounces per acre. It will be shot from an ultra low volume sprayer. A map of the exact impacted area is below:

Montgomery County itself currently ranks 9th statewide in the number of positive West Nile samples collected, according to state statistics. That number of positive samples this year sits at 67 as of Monday morning.

The Montgomery County Office of Public Health offers the following tips to stay safe and to eliminate mosquito breeding areas:

• Wear protective clothing such as long pants, long sleeve shirts, and socks
• Spray permethrin, an insecticide product, on clothing, shoes and gear, but not directly on your skin
• Mosquitoes will breed in any stagnant water that stands for five or more days, so it's important to identify and eliminate all sources of standing water
• Dispose of tin cans, plastic containers, ceramic posts or similar water holding containers
• Pay special attention to discarded tires that may have collected water
• Drill holes in the bottom of recycling container that are left outdoors
• 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
• Turn over wheelbarrows and do not allow water to stagnate in birdbaths
• Aerate ornamental pools or stock them with fish
• Keep swimming pools clean and chlorinated as a swimming pool that is left untended becomes a source of mosquito breeding

A rain date of Tuesday, Sept. 2 has been set for the Whitpain treatment.