MontCo Health Department Sprays for Mosquitoes in Upper Merion Sept. 11

Written by Community Editor Nicole Foulke

The Montgomery County Health Department (MCHD) will spray parts of Upper Merion township on the evening of Wednesday, Sept. 11, in an effort to control the mosquito population.

MCHD consulted with Upper Merion officials and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), and it was determined that the spraying will be performed in areas where sampling by the Health Department and PADEP showed that mosquitoes carry the West Nile Virus.

The spraying is scheduled to take place on Sept. 11 from about 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., and the alternate date is Wednesday, Sept. 18.  MCHD workers will use Biomist 3+15 at a rate of 1.5 fluid ounces per acre applied with a truck mounted Ultra Low Volume (ULV) sprayer.

MCHD plans to work with the appropriate agencies to identify, eliminate, or treat with larvacide, areas where mosquitoes breed.  Residents can call MCHD at (610) 278-5117 if they have concern about a location with standing water that may possibly be a mosquito breeding area.

For more information about the products to be used, visit the Environmental Protection Agency Website here.

MCHD offers the following tips to help eliminate mosquito-breeding areas:

-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 for mosquito breeding.  Be aware that mosquitoes may even breed in the water that collects on swimming pool covers.