NORFOLK, Va. – With the return of warmer weather, the bugs are never far behind.
Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has teamed up with Portsmouth to keep mosquitoes contained at its Craney Island dredged material management area and away from the surrounding community.
The district awarded a $220,959 contract Tuesday to Helicopter Applicators Inc. out of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, for aerial application of mosquito larvicide and adulticide at Craney Island. It includes the largest single year of potential treatment to date, with maximum amounts available as necessary.
Officials said the contract runs through early December.
As the 2019 mosquito season kicks off for the Tidewater community, Corps and Portsmouth city personnel are actively monitoring the area for mosquito larvae, as well as adult mosquito activity. District officials say the treatment schedule will be based off site evaluations, local mosquito levels and weather patterns.
Treatments are coordinated with the city in order to maximize effect. In some cases, Portsmouth and the Corps will deliver them on city and federal property simultaneously.
Hampton Roads consistently ranks high among the nation’s worst regions for mosquito populations, according to the Virginia Mosquito Control Association. Mosquitoes are not only a nuisance, they’re also among the world’s most dangerous insects and a major public health threat due to diseases they carry, including the Zika, West Nile and Chikungunya viruses.
The Portsmouth Mosquito Hotline provides continuous updates on mosquito spraying in the area. It’s available at 757-393-8666.
More information on aerial-treatment scheduling will be available through Norfolk District’s mosquito page at
www.nao.usace.army.mil/CraneyIslandMosquitoes, along with its Facebook and Twitter sites at
www.facebook.com/NAOonFB and
http://twitter.com/norfolkdistrict.