MDA to Spray in Eastport to Reduce West Nile Risk
Parts of Annapolis will be sprayed for mosquitoes because of West Nile virus activity that was found in the area.
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Maryland Department of Agriculture workers will spray for mosquitoes in Eastport due to West Nile virus activity found in the area, according to a press release.
The spraying will be done by truck on Monday and Oct. 1 weather permitting. It will include Eastport Terrace, Knightsbridge, Primrose Acres and Truxton Heights, according to a release.
To see a map of the spray area, click here.
In August, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene confirmed the first death in Maryland due to West Nile. There have been 13 confirmed cases in the state so far this year—at least one of which was in Anne Arundel County.
Only 20 percent of all those who are infected with the virus show any symptoms, according to the Center for Disease Control. Only about one in every 150 infections results in serious symptoms, which include high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis.
The Eastport spraying will start after 7:30 p.m. and it is expected to last until the early morning hours on both dates, according to the release. The MDA is asking people to avoid outdoor activities on spray nights.
dfw219
3:14 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Pasadena's Green Haven needs to be sprayed! Mosquitos are horrible. Other parts of Pasadena have been done, but nothing around Green Haven. Any Suggestions would be appreciated? We've treated our own lawn, but it has done nothing. These mosquitos are bullet proof!
Angel
3:38 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Wow I have contacted the MDA four times about mosquito control issues in my area (Telegraph road area in severn) and they have not done a thing.. Good to know that they are spraying everywhere else!!!! I can't even go outside without being run right back in by the swarms of prehistoric mosquitos!!!!!
joro
3:40 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Looks like the actual peninsula will not be sprayed. It is heavily infested. What a shame.
Janet Norman
3:43 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Thank you for the info and the map, which shows a different area than "Eastport" being sprayed. Hunt Meadow, down Spa, Ward 6, etc. Really need more vigilant container removal/emptying for Asian tiger mosquito, an agressive WNV vector. What are they using, permethrin?
Anna Staver
4:21 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
I'm not sure what chemical will be in the spray they use. I can check for you, and let you know.
Jeanna Beard
11:04 am on Wednesday, September 26, 2012
According to MDA's Mosquito Control Program webpage:
"Localized adult mosquito populations which exceed the action threshold can be managed with an application of insecticide dispersed from truck-mounted, ultra low volume (ULV), aerosol generators. The principle insecticide applied for adult mosquito control in Maryland is permethrin, synergized with piperonyl butoxide (PBO). ULV units disperse the synergized pyrethroid insecticides (0.003 lb. active ingredient per acre) over an effective swath width of 300 feet. Applications ideally are made when mosquito activity is high, wind velocity is 2 to 10 mph, air temperature is between 60 to 85 degrees F, relative humidity is high and a temperature inversion exists."
Zoe Cat
4:17 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
So sad.
West Nile might kill you these pesticides will kill you.
Annapolis Resident 21401
4:53 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
I wish we could ask them to expand the spray area. We're just a few blocks away! The mosquitoes ride in on my dogs' backs. They are out day and night! I got 3 bites last night in my kitchen after my dogs were let out into the backyard. We haven't been able to enjoy the patio at all this year (as I said, day or night). Definitely trying to be more careful about leaving containers around for breeding grounds.
Meg
6:30 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Does anyone know what chemical is being used?
Monica A. Jones
9:35 am on Thursday, September 20, 2012
I am disappointed that the entire Eastport area is not being sprayed. My yard and the area around my house has been a breading ground for these critters all summer. You would think with our high taxes, the MDA could provide us with some protection too. I am specifically asking for the area from the Eastport Bridge to First Street.
T.Robbinson
11:21 pm on Monday, September 24, 2012
Ridiculous. Spraying to kill mosquitos has health consequences beyond the human factor that eventually impact the human factor.
This spraying will effectively kill pollinators--bees, butterflies, dragonflies, damselflies, poisons those that eat them, puts toxins into ground water, and sewage drains, creates run off into the Chesapeake Bay, damages frogs & aquatic life and will be tracked into houses on shoes and by pets to embed in carpets and floors on which barefeet walk. Backyard gardens bearing vegetables and fruit in the area will now be unsafe to eat.
I am all for protecting human health. But all this frenzy...what madness! It's like using a sledge hammer to crack an egg.
We need to deter mosquitoes in the environment. But their natural predators, such as birds, bats, dragonflies and spiders, are being killed off by human contamination, and our perfectly fertilized & pesticide laden lawns. The reduction of the predatory population, combined with human-created breeding habitats (trash, abandoned tires, and forgotten water-filled buckets) encourage the mosquito population.
Instead of massive spraying efforts to kill everything, we should encourage efforts to manage, focus on prevention, public education and personal protection from mosquito bites by clean up of breeding grounds and limiting outdoor exposure at peak activity times.
Everything is connected. One action has lots of ripples in the water. Are we using good judgement here? I think not.