They're ba-a-a-k!

Homepage

Related Photos

Mosquitoes active at dusk and dawn create a seasonal epidemic in North America. Courtesy photo

Guest Book

Sign Our Guest Book

June 23, 2012

They're ba-a-a-k!

Spraying planned for evenings in Gainesville in next weeks

By GREG RUSSELL, Register Staff Writer Gainesville Daily Register The Daily Register Sat Jun 23, 2012, 06:24 PM CDT

Gainesville — Mosquito spraying is tentatively set for late next week in Gainesville, pending availability by third-party company Express Services of McKinney.Community Services Manager John Noblitt said Express crews are currently managing a busy Metroplex workload but are expected to soon spend several hours fogging Gainesville streets at late night.

Spraying would begin at 10 p.m. and take up to five hours, depending on the weather. Noblitt said no more than two fogging vehicles are expected, and will work the city among four “vectors” divided by the California Street/Grand Avenue intersection.

“They monitor wind direction and wind speed,” Noblitt said Friday. “And if the wind is more than 10 miles per hour, they typically won’t spray.”

One purpose of the fogging is to prevent possible transmission of the West Nile Virus, which mosquitoes carry. Noblitt said the spraying is precautionary but unavoidable, given recent weather spells.

“We don’t want to create panic,” he said. “And obviously mosquitoes carry all kinds of viruses, West Nile being one. But this is not a reaction to that, but a reaction to the moderate winter we had. Typically a colder winter will kill the mosquito larvae, but not this year. And with the recent rains and mugginess, it would be in the best interest of everyone to go ahead and spray.”

Noblitt said in the coming days, Gainesville residents should check the local, public-access Channel 2 to see exact spraying times. He added that during those scheduled times, residents should keep their pets inside and cover their outdoor yard ponds.

He also said the third-party use of Express Services has shown to be more inexpensive at $100 per hour — including chemical fees — than Gainesville city officials would spend using their own employees for

mosquito spraying.

“And as a side note, Homeland Security has regulations for cities about storing fogging equipment,” Noblitt added. “So it’s not prudent to keep that equipment in-house.”