Ground spraying for mosquitoes scheduled for Friday in New Bedford

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) has notified local boards of health of the finding of EEE in a primarily bird-biting mosquito sample obtained from northwest quadrant of New Bedford.  The sample was obtained on 9/1/14. Surrounding areas that also found positive EEE pools include Acushnet, Freetown, Kingston and Rehoboth. In response to these findings, the Bristol County Mosquito Control Project will conduct targeted ground spraying early on the morning of Friday, September 5, 2014.  This round of spraying will target the Buttonwood Park, Industrial Park and Sassaquin areas.  Spraying will take place between 2:00 am and sunrise on Friday morning, weather permitting.  Residents in the vicinity of the targeted areas may wish to close their windows this evening prior to spraying.

The Bristol County Mosquito Control Project has been conducting increased surveillance in our area to track the potential for EEE and WNV carrying mosquitoes. Mosquito traps are in place to collect additional pools of mosquitoes and monitoring of mosquito populations will be on-going to assess effectiveness of the spraying effort.

Residents are encouraged to request a ground spray by calling the Bristol County Mosquito Control project at (508) 823-5253, between 8:00am – 2:00pm (June – September), or contacting them by E-mail at RequestBristolMCP@comcast.net. 

The following precautions are advised:

Avoid Mosquito Bites

Avoid outside areas with obvious mosquito activity

Be Aware of Peak Mosquito Hours – While mosquitoes are out at all hours of the day, their peak biting times are from dusk to dawn. Consider rescheduling outdoor activities that occur during evening or early morning. Otherwise, take extra care to use repellent and protective clothing, especially if you work or spend a lot of time outdoors.

Clothing Can Help Reduce Mosquito Bites. Although it may be difficult to do when it’s hot, wearing long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors will help keep mosquitoes away from your skin.

Apply Insect Repellent when you go outdoors. Use a repellent with DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide), permethrin, picaridin (KBR 3023), IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus [p-methane 3, 8-diol (PMD)] according to the instructions on the product label.  DEET products should not be used on infants under two months of age and should be used in concentrations of 30% or less on older children.  Oil of lemon eucalyptus should not be used on children under three years of age.  Permethrin products are intended for use on items such as clothing, shoes, bed nets and camping gear and should not be applied to skin.

Mosquito-Proof Your Home

Drain Standing Water – Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. Limit the number of places around your home for mosquitoes to breed by either draining or getting rid of items that hold water. Check rain gutters and drains. Empty any unused flowerpots and wading pools, and change water in birdbaths frequently.

Install or Repair Screens – Some mosquitoes like to come indoors. Keep them outside by having tightly-fitting screens on all of your windows and doors.