Suffolk County planning aerial mosquito spraying of marshes

Aerial spraying of area salt marshes — with an eye on controlling mosquito larvae — is planned for Thursday and Friday, Suffolk County health officials said.

Marshes in areas of the towns of Babylon, Islip, Brookhaven, Southampton, East Hampton, Riverhead and Southold are to be sprayed between the hours of 5 a.m. and 8 p.m., weather permitting, with the pesticides VectoBac 12AS Liquid Concentrate and Altosid Liquid Larvicide Concentrate, officials said.

Precautions are not necessary, health officials said, as “the helicopter will be flying at a very low level over marsh areas and taking other precautions to control airborne drift into inhabited areas.” Also, the pesticides that are being used “have no significant human toxicity,” they said.

Besides being annoying, some mosquitoes’ bites can transmit West Nile virus to humans.

For more information, visit http://suffolkcountyny.gov/Departments/PublicWorks/VectorMosquitoControl.aspx