Mosquito Spraying Tuesday in Several Monmouth County Towns

Evidence of West Nile Virus has been found in several areas of Monmouth County — Atlantic Highlands, Middletown, Spring Lake and Wall Township — and the Monmouth County Mosquito Control Division will be doing a ground spray on Tuesday, the county announced. The spraying will be on residential streets in both towns from 4 to 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

• Atlantic Highlands and Middletown (Hillside section): On residential streets in Atlantic Highlands EAST of First Avenue to Sears Avenue and north to E. Washington Avenue in Atlantic Highlands, and on residential streets from Portland Avenue to Grand Avenue north of Hillside Avenue in the Hillside section of Middletown.
• Lake Como, Wall Township (West Belmar section), Spring Lake Heights and Spring Lake: On residential streets south of 17th Avenue between Highway 35 and Route 71 in Lake Como and Wall Township, on residential streets north of Wall Road between Highway 35 and Route 71 in Spring Lake Heights and in Marucci Park in Spring Lake.

Spraying will be done using truck-mounted equipment dispensing a very fine mist of the pesticide Zenivex® 4E RTU. According to Monmouth County: Zenivex® contains a pesticide called Etofenprox, a member of the category of pesticides called non-ester pyrethroids, which are synthetic versions of pesticides produced by plants called pyrethrins. Zenivex is a non-ester pyrethroids-based pesticide product that is used to control mosquitoes in outdoor residential and recreational areas.

As a precautionary measure, residents in the area scheduled for the control operation should remain inside and protect pets during the time sprayers are in the area. To further limit their exposure, residents should bring in children’s toys and pet bowls and turn off the intake fan in window air conditioners. Spraying will not be done if wind speeds are higher than 10 mph.

“We have already seen evidence that the previous spraying operations have reduced the number of mosquitoes in the southern Monmouth towns where the sprays occurred,” said Freeholder Deputy Director Serena DiMaso, liaison to the Mosquito Control division.

West Nile Virus is most commonly spread by infected mosquitoes; mosquitoes become infected with WNV when they feed on infected birds. It causes a fever, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) or meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord).