Politics & Government
City to Combat Mosquitoes at Alley Pond Park
Department of Health Will Drop Biopesticide Pellets to Prevent West Nile Virus
To prevent an outbreak of West Nile Virus, the city is continuing its war on mosquitoes with an airstrike in Douglaston.
Starting today, the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will send helicopters to marshy areas of Alley Pond Park, College Point and Flushing, as well as areas of the Bronx and Staten Island, to apply larvicide.
The biopesticide pellets are dry and contain tiny amounts of bacteria that prevent mosquito larvae from hatching.
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The two different bugs that can be used, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis and Bacillus sphaericus, are safe for humans and wildlife, according to the DOH.
Both are approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation.
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Although the products - VectoBac and VectoLex - are nontoxic by ingestion, skin contact or inhalation, direct contact with eyes or skin may cause mild irritation, according to the DOH.
The pellets will be dropped between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. But they could be dispersed as late as Thursday, depending on the weather.
The DOH said mid-June is the time when mosquitoes start to breed and lay as many as hundreds of eggs in containers of standing water. The agency advised that homeowners should follow the city’s health code, which does not allow for a property to have large amounts of standing water.
West Nile virus was first discovered in the northeast U.S. in 1999. The highest concentration of infected mosquito pools was found in northeast Queens, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
While not everyone infected with West Nile will become sick, persons over 50 years of age who may have other health conditions could develop severe illness.
The disease is also known to affect birds. But unlike years past, the DOH said it is no longer taking reports of individual dead birds to monitor for West Nile Virus because the tests had “limited value as an early warning system for the virus.”
The department will continue to take reports of groups of dead birds (10 or more of any species or three or more waterbirds). Residents can report clusters of dead birds by calling 311.
To learn more about West Nile Virus and taking precautions to avoid mosquito bites, visit the DOH’s website.