County Says No Mosquito Spraying in Warminster

Following a week of trapping and testing samples, the Bucks County Health Department has decided that the township does not require any insecticide spraying at this time.

According to a post on the Warminster Township website, the county determined that the township does not have a mosquito problem and that it does not qualify for a spraying under state guidelines.

A mosquito sample trapped near the Public Works building and tested two weeks ago came back positive for West Nile Virus. The standard response is to conduct concentrated testing in the nearby neighborhoods and make further determination based on the results, according to Phil Smith, West Nile Virus coordinator for the Bucks County Department of Health.

"One sample is not good enough to start spraying the area," he said.

On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will conduct aerial black fly suppression operations along the Delaware River in Bucks and Northampton Counties (as well as Hunterdon and Warren Counties in New Jersey), according to a release from the Bucks County Commissioners office.

Operations along the Delaware River will begin at approximately 9 a.m. at the Delaware Valley Fire Co. property in Tinicum Township. Work should progress up the Delaware River from New Hope to Martin's Creek, Pa.

Typical operations involve the application of Vectobac 12AS (a brown, viscous, liquid material that smells like fish oil) from a helicopter. The helicopter will apply the Vectobac perpendicular to the river flow in designated areas by flying back and forth across the river and discharging the material from a boom arm. 

The material is then carried downriver. The active ingredient in Vectobac is Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (B.t.i.), a naturally occurring soil bacterium, according to the release.