City of new bedford official website - mayor - press release - target ground spraying for mosquitoes in new bedford early friday morning - august 7, 2013

City of New Bedford
Jonathan F. Mitchell, Mayor
Targeted Ground Spraying for Mosquitoes Scheduled in New Bedford Early Friday Morning New Bedford, Massachusetts-The New Bedford Board of Health announced today that
the Bristol County Mosquito Control Project will conduct targeted ground spraying in the
very early morning of Friday, August 9, 2013 in areas of New Bedford.
This round of spraying will target the areas of Fort Taber, Brooklawn Park, Buttonwood
Park, Hazelwood Park, Riverside Park, Poor Farm Area, Walsh Field, Ashley Park,
Clasky Park, Ben Rose Field, and the Industrial Area and take place between 2:00 am
and sunrise on Friday morning.
Residents in the vicinity of the targeted areas may wish to close their windows on
Thursday night prior to the spraying.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has been testing mosquito pools
collected in Bristol County for the presence of EEE and WNV carrying mosquitoes.
They have notified several communities in Bristol County, including New Bedford earlier
today, of the recent finding of WNV carrying mosquitoes. The New Bedford location
which tested positive for the presence of WNV was located in the Industrial Park area in
the City’s North End. Mosquito traps are in place to collect pools of mosquitoes and
monitor mosquito populations as an on-going effort to assess the effectiveness of local
spraying.
The following precautions are advised:
Avoid Mosquito Bites

 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. Page 1 of 2
 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. Find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/CityofNewBedford and Twitter www.twitter.com/NewBedford_MA! Page 2 of 2

Source: http://173-162-237-164-newengland.hfc.comcastbusiness.net/Mayor/PressReleases2013/080713_Ground_Spraying.pdf