Hattiesburg is shifting times in the war on mosquitoes this summer, planning a late-evening barrage and eliminating the morning salvos. However, an increased number of West Nile Virus cases would be an indication to step up spraying.
Colton Hill, Deputy Director of Streets for the city’s Public Works Department, told the Hattiesburg City Council that spraying in the afternoons can be detrimental for insects that are good for vegetation.
“We’re taking some examples from MDEQ (Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality) and the industry for better practices,” he said. “Typically in the past, the city has been sprayed twice a day Monday-Friday. Those time frames have varied from 3 a.m. until 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. These evening hours are during daylight hours, and during evening hours mosquito populations are lowered because they are in that resting state.”
Hill said spraying later in the day could be harmful for other insects.
“As the temperature starts cooling down, that is the time that they are more likely to come out, and that is the time that they are more likely to reproduce,” he said. “If you come out and spray during that evening time, you are more likely to hurt some of the beneficial insects that are out during that time. So, what we are doing a little differently beginning this year is we are just kind of focusing on that morning time.”
Spraying will start early in the morning, Hill said.
“We are going to be spraying Monday-Friday from 3:30 a.m. until 6:30 a.m.,” he said. “We have five trucks and there will be one truck dedicated to each ward. The intent will be for them to make their rounds throughout the entire City of Hattiesburg at least twice a week, so we are still able to cover our grounds with what we have.”
Hill said previous spraying tactics were less effective than what is currently planned.
“What we were spraying beforehand wasn’t as efficient as it could have been,” he said. “So, we are focusing on that morning time from MDEQ to handle our mosquito population. Also, we are going looking for standing water. When we see standing water, we are going to treat with larvicide tables.”
Hill said residents will not be sprayed, with the insecticide to be about 100-150 feet away, and spraying will cease within that distance. “Spraying early in the morning gives us the opportunity to have continual coverage,” he said.
Hill said the city will continue to monitor the program’s results.
“What we are doing is seeing how that works out,” he said. “We are working with some vendors now to getting traps to start getting counts on mosquitoes from certain areas and some spots to see how effectiveness this is. However, an increased number of West Nile Virus cases would indicate to us that we need to step up spraying.”
