County Official Allays Concerns About School Vacation Week Mosquito Application

After a Braintree resident expressed concern about the county starting to apply an aerial mosquito application next week while kids are out of school and spending time outside in neighborhoods, an official provided more information about the process and said residents should have no fear.

Braintree is among two dozen Norfolk County towns that will undergo aerial application of a mosquito larval control substance starting next week. The spraying will be done by way of helicopter. It will drop biorational larvicide Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) over large wetlands in Braintree and the other towns.

David Lawson, Director of the Norfolk County Mosquito Control District, said in an email that the use of the term "spraying" may have been the cause of concern.

"The application that I suspect you pictured in your mind was our truck mounted ULV applications. These will not commence until after Memorial day," Lawson said.

The substance being applied – Bti – "is a spore form bacteria attached to ground up corn cob granular with a food grade vegetable oil," Lawson said.

"The product is toxic to only mosquito larvae and black fly larvae, and is considered "essentially non-toxic" to people and wildlife by the EPA. Since we will apply only to the wetlands, there is little chance that people would have any contact with it, though it would be harmless even if it did."

The aerial application will take two to three days and will happen between April 16 and April 26, unless it cannot be completed by then because of weather or other reasons. In that case, it will proceed beyond those dates.

"Residents may hear the helicopters applying near their neighborhoods, but have no reason to fear this application," Lawson said.

More information is available at www.norfolkcountymosquito.org.

Other nearby communities receiving the application include Weymouth, Holbrook, Randolph, Quincy and Milton.