Spray Notification Policy
Notification of adulticide spraying will occur when the routing comes within 200 feet of a residence or boundary of organic farms/agriculture. Notifications occur on this page, and also the NFMAD Facebook page (Facebook.com/northforkmosquitoabatementdistrict).
All efforts are being made to map organic/biodynamic agriculture and bee hives, etc into the Field Seeker GIS program we utilize all our data through. If adulticide is applied using the truck mounted sprayer rather than the smaller backpack/ATV units, notification extends to every property in the immediate area, by door hanger, telephone, and/or a crew member going door to door, the first time only.
Laminated signs are available at the Hotchkiss Town Hall, for posting on gates, fences, etc., for pesticide-sensitive residents and organic agriculture, so there is consistent, easily recognizable signs for the truck-mounted fogging crew.
EPIDEMIC CONSIDERATIONS FOR PRIVATE PROPERTY AND ORGANIC FARMS
Posted fence lines and properties will not be sprayed with adulticide by NFMAD unless epidemic levels of West Nile Virus disease has been reached in the North Fork District, specifically involving the posted property and ALL other efforts to mitigate the mosquito issues have utterly failed, but a remote and distant possibility, and truly a worst case scenario.
There have been great strides in environmentally-conscious, low impact mosquito control products in recent years. Terminix is a non-toxic, micro-encapsulated garlic product that acts as an adulticide, an attractant, and a barrier spray. Terminix does not even have an EPA registration number, given its total lack of toxicity. However, despite all advances in control products, it is of utmost importance to care for your own property, drain boggy, swampy, marshy areas, clear drainage channels, and practice responsible irrigation of your organic crops and orchards, to avoid the need for mosquito abatement products at all, let alone adulticide.