Spraying for mosquitoes to be conducted Aug. 30 - Wicked Local

The Salem Board of Health announced that spraying for mosquitoes will be conducted in Salem on the night of Thursday, Aug. 30, between 8 p.m. and midnight. The spraying will be targeting the area within Boston Street/Route 107 to the Peabody border.

Residents of these neighborhoods and those who live within 1,500 feet of the border of any of these areas should take simple precautions to avoid exposure to pesticide during the time that their city or town is scheduled to be sprayed:

•  Stay indoors, keep your windows closed, and turn off window fans during the time spraying occurs. If your air conditioner has a fresh air intake feature, you may want to shut off the intake during the time of spraying.
• Keep pets indoors when spraying is occurring in your immediate area to minimize their risk of exposure.
• If skin or clothes or other items are exposed to the sprayed pesticide, wash with soap and water.
•  If the spray gets in your eyes, immediately rinse them with water or eye drops, and call your doctor.
• If you have a small ornamental fish pond, you may want to cover it during the night of spraying.
• Following the spray, rinse any homegrown fruits and vegetables with water.

Spraying of pesticides reduces but does not eliminate the risk of mosquito-borne illness. All residents, whether inside or outside the spray zone, are urged to continue taking personal precautions to avoid mosquito bites. These include using insect repellent, covering exposed skin when outside, and avoiding outdoor activities between the hours of dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are at their most active.

Board of Health and Northeast Mosquito Control program officials made the decision to conduct precautionary spraying following the detection of WNV-positive mosquito samples in the region in recent days. Visit Northeast Mosquito Control at northeastmassmosquito.com/ or the Salem Board of Health at salem.com/Pages/SalemMA_Health/index for more information and updates.

For a fact sheet on West Nile Virus, visit mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/cdc/factsheets/wnv.pdf.