Mosquito Spraying Scheduled for Lower Providence

According to a press release from the Montgomery County Health Department (MCHD), after consulting with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), Lower Providence Township and Worcester Township officials, will be adulticiding (spraying) to control the adult mosquito population in selected sections of Lower Providence and Worcester Townships.

The spraying will be done where sampling by the Health Department and PADEP has shown mosquitoes that carry the West Nile Virus.

The spraying will be done, weather permitting, on Thursday, Sept. 6 from approximately 8 to 11:30 p.m.

The alternate date will be Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012.

The spraying will include residential streets within the following boundaries: Germantown Pike, East Mount Kirk Avenue, Park Avenue, and Ridge Pike. Mount Kirk Park will also be included in the spray.

All residential streets within these boundaries may be sprayed.

All spraying will be performed by MCHD. There will be no aerial spraying. Workers will be using

Biomist 3+15 at a rate of 1.5 fluid ounces per acre with a truck mounted Ultra Low Volume (ULV) sprayer.

The Health Department will work with appropriate agencies to identify, eliminate, or treat with

larvacide, areas where mosquitoes are breeding. Residents may contact the Health Department at 610- 278-5117 if they are concerned about an area of standing water that may be a breeding area. The adult mosquito control program will only be used in limited situations to reduce large numbers of adult mosquitoes.

For further information about the products being used, visit the EPA website at

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/mosquitoes/.

There are things that everyone can do around the home to help eliminate mosquito-breeding areas.

Some of these tips include:

• Identify and eliminate all sources of standing water that collect on your property. Mosquitoes will breed in any puddle that lasts for more than four 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 out of doors. Drainage holes that are located on the container sides collect enough water for mosquitoes to breed in.

• 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.