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Cumberland County will carry out other mosquito sprays this week to mitigate the proliferation of hematophagous insects in the Midstate, although recent rains are not necessarily responsible for high counts of West Nile virus
"We have had mosquitoes all these years," said John Bitner, chief of the district vector control office, responsible for fighting insects and other potentially disease-carrying creatures
. is experiencing another season of heavy West Nile virus infections, this is not entirely due to the effect of recent floods – at least for now. Most of the fast-breeding mosquitoes that have emerged from recent floods are not Culex pipiens and Culex Restuans, which carry West Nile.
For pest control, Bitner said, the main difference is that mosquitoes The county has conducted nine nocturnal sprays this year to combat adult culex, Bitner said, using a very low-volume DeltaGard insecticide sprayed into a truck. Another spray of this type is scheduled for Wednesday night in parts of Carlisle, Mechanicsburg, Township of East Pennsboro, Township of Silver Spring, Township of Monroe and Township of South Middleton. We can not really spray adults during the day because there are too many other targets that we do not want to harm, such as bees, "Bitner said.
The best way to combat mosquitoes from using any chemical spray on adults, but instead use a bacterial spray that kills the larvae in the water before they start flying.
County teams sprayed hoppers in stagnant water areas by hand after recent floods, Bitner said.
"We try to treat these areas by hand-spraying backpacks, but the problem is that some of these areas are too big to reach," said Bitner. "Currently, most treatments are not really accessible."
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection was scheduled to release bacteria larvae by helicopter in parts of Cumberland County on Monday. According to DEP spokesman Neil Shader, this was canceled due to delays in the preparation of the equipment and the rain forecast that followed, but this could be postponed.
The stagnant water of recent rains remains stuck in artificial structures. back, could also possibly contribute to the culex population and increase the accounts of West Nile.
Residents are encouraged to drain any stagnant water in their homes and gardens, or to use "mosquitoes" in areas that can not be drained. Dunks release anti-larval bacteria over time and are available for retail sale.
Last year, 150 of the 593 mosquitoes tested in Cumberland County were positive for West Nile virus, according to DEP records. The particularly bad 2017 season also saw three birds, two humans, and two other animals tested positive in the county, according to DEP data.
So far this year, the county has seen 58 of 260 mosquitoes tested positive, according to DEP records, with no positive noninsect up here. But it is still relatively early in the season.
"We could exceed last year's numbers if we continue to roll here," said Bitner.
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