Compiled by The Bedford Citizen
Editor’s Note: With the warm winter, and Spring starting this week, it’s time to think about spraying for mosquitoes
While the Board of Health promotes mosquito control in addition to personal protection methods like wearing repellent, avoiding being outside between the hours of dusk and dawn and mosquito-proofing your home, they would like to make the residents of Bedford aware of their option to exempt their property from pesticide applications performed by EMCPP.
Residents interested in excluding their properties from pesticide applications are advised to navigate to the Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR) webpage:
www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/agr/pesticides/mosquito/pesticide-application-exclusions.html
Links to the online exclusion request form and a printable exclusion request form can also be found on the Board of Health website at www.bedfordma.gov/boh.
Exclusions go into effect 14 days after the application is received.
Changes to the process for 2019
Completing either the online or printable form is the only method for filing an exemption and takes the place of the previous exclusion method of filling out an exemption form each year and submitting it to the Bedford Town Clerk. The printable form must be mailed to Juan Carlos Gutierrez, Department of Agricultural Resources, Suite 500, 251 Causeway Street, Boston, MA 02114.
To answer any questions on this process or about mosquito control in Bedford, please contact the Board of Health at 781-275-6507.
About Mosquito Control in Bedford
In an effort to ensure an early detection, warning, and response system is in place to manage mosquito populations and mosquito-borne illness like West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis in Bedford, the Bedford Board of Health works closely with the East Middlesex Mosquito Control Project (EMMCP) who conducts mosquito control activities in Bedford.
EMMCP treats mosquito larvae in wetlands with aerial and portable sprayers and provides larvicide to treat the catch basins in town. Additionally, mosquitoes are collected from five trap locations in town to determine population numbers and types of mosquitoes. The collected mosquitoes are tested for the presence of disease. Also, in an effort to control adult mosquito populations, truck mounted aerosol straying will be conducted when elevated population numbers are identified in the traps or mosquito-borne disease is identified in mosquitoes from traps in Bedford or nearby communities.
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