Wayland Wetlands To Get Aerial Mosquito Control This Spring

WAYLAND, MA — State mosquito-control officials will apply a larvacide later this month to help control mosquito larvae in the town.

The East Middlesex Mosquito Control Project plans to conduct a low-flying helicopter application of a biological larvicide over several Wayland wetlands between Apr. 21 and May 1 to kill mosquito larvae before they mature into biting adults.

The East Middlesex Mosquito Control Project said the treatment will target wetlands now being evaluated in Wayland, including Pod Meadow and areas near Claypit Hill Road, Plain Road, Forty Acre Drive, Glezen Lane and Concord Road.

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Officials said one helicopter application is planned during that window, using a granular form of Bti, short for "Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis," to be dropped directly over wetland areas where mosquito larvae develop.

The agency said residents do not need to take any special precautions during the application.

Bti is a naturally occurring soil bacterium that has been used in mosquito control for more than 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Public health agencies use it as a larvicide, meaning it targets mosquitoes in water at the larval stage rather than killing adult mosquitoes after they emerge.

This is not a new or experimental mosquito-control method. The EPA says Bti is used across the U.S., including in Massachusetts, and is approved for aerial application.

Bti is not harmful to people, honeybees, animals, and the environment when used as directed, the CDC said.

Health officials generally view larvicide treatments like this as one part of an “integrated mosquito management” approach that aims to suppress mosquito populations early, before large numbers of adults emerge later in the season.

Residents seeking more information can contact the East Middlesex Mosquito Control Project at 781-899-5730.

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