Montgomery Township To Be Sprayed For West Nile Virus

MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP, PA — Montgomery Township is the latest municipality that will receive a chemical spray treatment to combat the spread of the mosquito population and West Nile Virus.

Spraying will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 27 from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

The spray area is restricted to the boundaries of Windlestrae Park, officials said.

Residents should consider remaining indoors, closing windows, and turning off ventilation systems during the spraying and for 30 minutes afterwards.

The spray used will be Merus, an adulticide which uses natural pyrethrin, which is derived from chrysanthemum flowers. It will be shot off from an mounted sprayer on an ATV.

Whitpain, Royersford, Limerick, Norristown, and East Norriton have all been sprayed in recent days or will be sprayed in the coming week, authorities said.

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

• Mosquitoes will breed in any stagnant water that stands for five or more days
• 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