Larval mosquito control by helicopter deemed safe

Residents in the City of Coachella have been noticing aerial larval treatment being sprayed. The third treatment was sprayed Friday morning. We talked to vector control to find out about the safety of their treatment.

Poll: Are you concerned about aerial mosquito spraying in the valley?

“This material is very safe for humans and for non-target type situations. The material that we’re using is much much less of a problem than the invasive species particularly if the mosquito starts to transmit diseases- that would be a far much greater threat,” said Rodney Chamberlain, Lead Supervisor at the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District.

Chamberlain says the aerial treatment used is organic and environmentally friendly. It has not been reported to cause any health related problems.

A resident of the City of Coachella said, “I’m happy because they’re preventing the Zika to come and that’s really good that we have people around us that worry about that disease. I’m happy!”

Vector control says that if someone is concerned they should retreat in doors and wait ten minutes after the application and there should be no problems at all. It’s said that it would be a very rare allergenic response, if any were to occur.

The aerial control treatment is expected to continue into November at a bi-weekly approach and until all invasive mosquito specie larvae are eliminated.

“In order to eliminate this mosquito it’s going to take a multi prong approach. The ground operation we didn’t feel was enough. There are a lot of areas we can miss, roof tops, places that are just not accessible from the ground,” said Chamberlain.

Vector Control is continuing to keep full communication with residents as their treatment plans continue. They have sent post cards via mail and have knocked on doors to educate residents about the treatments.

The treatments have been successful, with an 80% control rate of the mosquito specie.