[RP TownTalk] Mosquitos and MDA spraying info

[Rob Oppenheim]

I received some follow up questions on mosquito spraying so I followed up with 
Jeannine Dorothy of the Maryland Department of Agriculture Mosquito Control.
Here are the questions and her answers.
 
Why are there no spray zones?
 
If someone does not want to be sprayed, we will block them off the
spray map as a courtesy. If their neighbors want to be sprayed, the
Town can override the NO SPRAY - we would need a letter saying the
objector is being overridden. The only ones who CANNOT be overridden 
are anyone on the State's Pesticide Sensitive Individuals list. They are 
blocked off the spray map and will not be put back on.
 
We have 2 no spray zones - the 4700 block of Sheridan St. and 
the 4800 block of Queensbury Rd [ I will follow up and ask if these 
no spray zones are due to Pesticide Sensitive Individuals or not. ]
 
One person recommend bat houses. Is this a good idea?
 
Bats are not bad BUT contrary to popular opinion, they do NOT eat
many mosquitoes. There was a study done where they weighed a bat's
stomach contents then they weighed mosquitoes & extrapolated out
that a bat could eat 10,000 mosquitoes a night or something like
that. When someone else did studies on bat stomach CONTENTS, 
the result was less than 1% was mosquitoes. They prefer moths,
beetles, other larger insects. Also, bats will often never move
into bat boxes, for whatever reasons.
 
Since we ...[were]... in the midst of a draught where are the 
mosquitos breeding? The shallow areas, even gutters, can't be 
the culprit now. Even storm drain basins, which I've suspected 
before must be dry now. [ This was asked and answered before 
the recent rains.]
 
Many places which normally hold stagnant water are now dry.
However, creeks are drying up and leaving puddles behind, which
breed. AND homeowners are watering plants & lawns & getting water
in all sorts of man-made containers in yards, so there are plenty
of sources for breeding even during a drought.
 
Since MDA is now spraying in the evening is it more effective against 
the Asian Tiger?
 
We have always sprayed in the evening (or late at night) and it has
never been very effective against the ti ger mosquito. Tigers typically 
are out ONLY when people are out to bite. And we will not spray 
neighborhoods when people are out. So our spraying & tiger activity 
do not overlap much.
 
Does the 4700 block of Sheridan no spray zone begin at 47th Ave?
Surprisingly no, that no spray area is east of the railroad tracks.
 
[end]
 
 
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