Aerial mosquito spraying set for Thursday and Friday nights

Area leaders have made their decisions and the roster is set for what municipalities will participate in Denton County’s aerial mosquito spraying program to combat the West Nile virus outbreak this Thursday and Friday night.

The southern Denton County towns and cities that will be included in the aerial spraying are: Copper Canyon, Corral City, Double Oak, Flower Mound, Highland Village, Justin, Lewisville, Northlake and Roanoke. See map here.

Aerial spraying will take place in most unincorporated areas of Denton County, which include Lantana.

Two area towns – Argyle and Bartonville – decided to opt-out of aerial spraying. The city of Denton also declined the offer.

The meetings were prompted by Denton County’s declaration of a West Nile Virus Health Emergency last Wednesday.

The declaration triggered a request to the Department of State Health Services to make state and federal resources available to Denton County for aerial mosquito spraying.  No county money will be used to spread the pesticide from four aircraft in two treatments over a two night period.

Dr. Bing Burton, director of the Denton County Health Department, told county commissioners that the aerial spaying will take place this Thursday and Friday night from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., weather permitting.

Burton said that they will not spray over high school football games or other large gatherings.

The chemical to be sprayed is called Duet, a combination of two pyrethroids; sumithrin and prallethrin. Pyrethroids are a class of synthetic pesticides similar to pyrethrins, which are naturally occurring in chrysanthemum flowers. They kill mosquitoes on contact and are usually broken down by sunlight and water in a short period of time after application.

To be on the safe side, experts suggest that you keep your pets inside, cover outside small fish ponds and bee colonies, and rinse down outdoor play equipment and home-grown fruits and vegetables with water.

This year, 128 people have been diagnosed with West Nile disease in Denton County and three have died, which is the highest West Nile virus incidence rate in the state.