2013 Mosquito Control Program

The mosquito control program for 2013 began with spring larviciding in March.  The regular season began in April and will continue into early September.  Work may continue late into September if necessary.

The program consists of larviciding (control of immature stages of the mosquito), public education about the Asian tiger mosquito, and adult surveillance with possible spraying.

Larviciding
Larviciding, proven the most effective treatment, means treating the immature stages (eggs, larvae or pupae) of the mosquitoes in the stagnant water where they occur. Known breeding areas in your community will be checked approximately every 3 weeks for the presence of larvae and will be treated if necessary. Three different products are used for larviciding.

1. Bti granules - This is a granular formulation of a bacterium, Bacillus thurinziensis var israelensis.  These bacteria produce a substance toxic to mosquito and black fly larvae but not harmful to other organisms. The material is not persistent in the environment; the bacteria do not reproduce and multiply so the effect of the bacteria is very temporary.
2. Bacillius sphaericus granules – These bacteria also produce a substance toxic to mosquito larvae.  Under certain conditions, they can recycle in the breeding area for up to 30 days.
3. Methoprene briquet, pellet, & granule - This substance is an insect growth regulator, causing incomplete development within the immature stages. The mosquito dies before becoming a biting adult. The briquet and pellet formulations last up to 30 days, slowly releasing the active ingredient into the breeding area. The granule lasts for several weeks.

Adulticiding
Someone from the evening adulticiding crew will visit your community approximately every 3 weeks if we have received complaints about mosquito problems in your area.  Our crew member will either place a portable light trap overnight or do a landing count in complaint areas.  If the number of female mosquitoes does not exceed our action threshold (3 female mosquitos in a 2 minute count, 10 female mosquitos per night in an unbaited light trap or 24 female mosquitos per night in a baited light trap), spraying will not be done. 

The reason for this surveillance is that the permethrin we use for adult control is a contact insecticide; it must contact the mosquito to kill it.  Our spray shift will run in the late evening to try to coincide with the time of peak mosquito activity. Your development will be scheduled for a specific weeknight.  If the sprayer operator encounters too many people outside in the spray area, spraying will not be done.  Adulticiding will begin weekly in June and will continue until the end of September.  Permethrin is the one product we will be using for adulticiding.

Please do not to stand around outside in your neighborhood while the spray trucks are coming through your areas.  We have a pesticide sensitive list from the State of Maryland and will not spray within 300 ft of the objectors. If the City of Bowie feels that there is a public health problem, we can override the exemptions.

Residents who have an objection with their neighborhood being sprayed need to send a letter complete with their name, address, and contact number to:

Maryland Department of Agriculture
Mosquito Control Section
8071 Greenmead Drive
College Park, MD  20740

The adult mosquito surveillance/spraying if necessary schedule is as follows:

Tuesdays 9 p.m.- 4 a.m.

Belair Greens	Hillmeade Sta Add	Race Track Rd TH
Bowie Forest	Huntington	Rockledge
Bowie Station	Huntington Crest	Rolling Hills
Buckingham	Idlewild	Saddlebrook
Chapel Forge	Kenilworth	Saddlebrook West
Derbyshire	Long Ridge	Somerset
Dixon Crossing	Meadowbrook	Spring Meadows
Fairview	Meadowbrook TH	Stewarts Landing
Fletchertown Rd	Northridge	Sumner Chase
Foxhill	Old Chapel Estates	Tulip Grove
Forest Dr.	Old Stage	Victoria Heights
Glenridge	Overbrook	Westview
Grady’s Walk	Princeton Square	Whitehall
Highbridge Park		Yorktown

Wednesdays 9pm-4am

Amber Meadows	Evergreen Estates	Oaktree
Ashleigh/Ashleigh Cluster	Glen Allen	Palisades
Ashleigh Station	Governor’s Green	Peach Preserve
Bowie Commons	Greystone	Pointer Ridge North
Collington Manor	Grovehurst	Pointer Ridge South
Collington Station	Heather Hills	Ridgeview TH
Collington Ridge	Lake Village Manor	Tall Oaks
Covington	Longleaf	Tall Oaks Crossing
Devonshire	Mitchellville Rd TH	Ternberry
Enfield Chase	Mitchellville East	Vistas
Ensleigh	Northview	Woodmore Estates
Essington	Oak Pond	Woodmore Highlands

Asian Tiger Mosquito
Since the Asian tiger mosquito has become a major problem in this area, we are trying to distribute information about this mosquito in an effort to reduce backyard breeding of this annoying mosquito pest. Mosquitoes can breed in any water-holding container including bird baths, wading pools, pet watering dishes, tin cans, old tires, clogged gutters or flower pots. To prevent mosquito breeding in these areas, water should be changed weekly in bird baths, wading pools and pet dishes, gutters should be cleaned at least twice a year, and other water-holding containers should be disposed of or stored upside down. 

If you choose to spray your yard for the Asian Tiger Mosquito, you need to purchase the correct pesticide from a hardware store or a professional pest control agency.  Make sure that what you choose is labeled for the treatment of mosquitoes.  There are many different brand names that will work.  Some of the active ingredients to look for on the label which work well against Asian Tigers are Resmethrin, Permethrin, and Pyrethrin, - these are just suggestions, there are others that will work. 
Adult Asian Tigers spend most of the time resting in bushes, ivy, tall grass, under decks, and in other shady, sheltered areas.  Concentrate treatment in these areas.  Although they are active all day, Asian Tigers seem to be most active around dusk.  Therefore, this is the best time to treat.

If you need assistance locating breeding areas around your house, or would like to report stagnant water near your property call the Public Works Office at (301) 809-2336 or email at .

Maryland Department of Agriculture
Mosquito Control Office
301-422-5080 www.mda.state.md.us