Surveillance and Spraying

Maryland Department of Agriculture's (MDA) 2022 Mosquito Control Program's ends  September 30, 2022. No MDA spraying or surveillance activity will be conducted after September 30 until the 2023 Mosquito Control Season.

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The MDA Mosquito Program was created specifically to address community education, prevention, and monitoring of mosquitoes in our community. 

Spraying will occur only IF pre-set criteria is met and spraying is warranted. (The minimum light trap collection to warrant ground spraying is 12 female mosquitoes of a species known to feed on humans, per night). 

The MDA Mosquito Control Program is NOT a regularly scheduled mosquito & pest control spray program. Some neighborhoods may never meet the criteria and may not get sprayed during the 2022 season. If regularly scheduled pest and mosquito spraying is desired for your property, we recommend residents hire a professional pest control service. 

The MDA’s larviciding normally begins in March for predetermined problem areas. Frequent and regular inspections of breeding areas are carried out from March through September to determine larval density and species composition. If warranted, adulticiding (spraying) may also begin in late May and will run through mid-September, as MDA resources allow. 

When Spraying is Warranted

If a Bowie neighborhood meets the mosquito trapping criteria during the mosquito monitoring season, that neighborhood will be sprayed. Only those Bowie neighborhoods that meet the MDA criterion will be sprayed. Once sprayed, they will not be eligible to be sprayed again for three weeks and it will need to meet MDA spraying criterion in the days immediate prior to the subsequent tentative spray. If the MDA’s pre-set criterion warrant spraying, if the neighborhood is north of Route 50 it would be treated on Tuesday and if the neighborhood is south of Route 50, it would be sprayed on Wednesday. To Opt-Out of this REGULAR spraying, please complete the Opt-Out form in the Quick Links portion of this page and return it to the MDA.

Residents may call the MDA at 301-422-5080 during business hours on Tuesdays or Wednesdays to see if their neighborhood is scheduled to be sprayed that same evening. 

If warranted, spraying will occur between the hours of 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. on either Tuesday (north of Rt. 50) or Wednesday (south of Rt. 50) depending on where you live in Bowie. Please call the MDA at 301-422-5080 on Tuesday or Wednesday to see if your neighborhood is scheduled to be sprayed that evening. 

When Mosquito Borne Illness is Detected 

Sometimes a mosquito-borne illness is detected in trapped mosquitoes through the MDA’s monitoring program. If that happens, the MDA will perform an "Unscheduled Spray". The MDA will notify the City of Bowie and post an announcement on the MDA Mosquito Control Press Release page and on the MDA's Twitter feed @MdAgMosquito. In turn, the City of Bowie will notify residents in affected communities of any "Unscheduled Sprays" via Alert Bowie and will post an announcement on the home page of this  City of Bowie website. 

Please note: "Unscheduled Spray" events are done only after mosquito borne illness is detected in trapped mosquitoes in City neighborhoods. Because of this, residents cannot opt-out of MDA “Unscheduled Spray” events and previous Opt-Out Agreements are temporarily suspended for these sprays.

Questions

Please contact the Maryland Department of Agriculture's Mosquito Control Program Office at 301-422-5080 if you have questions about the MDA Mosquito Control Program. 

Further, if you have concerns about mosquito prevention, standing water issues, storm drain back-ups, or property drainage problems in your neighborhood within the City of Bowie, please call 301-809-2344 or email Tanya Huettel at thuettel@cityofbowie.org.  

A Note from the MDA about Non-Target Organisms

"We know many people are concerned about the effects of spraying on non-target organisms, like honeybees and bats. The MDA only conducts truck mounted spraying or misting at night. Bees are not active at night. The droplets in the spray have an extremely small diameter. The surface to mass ratio of these droplets is such that these droplets do not leave residue on surfaces. They are like tiny parachutes. When they are pulled down by gravity, drag keeps them from falling. The point is that these droplets do not land or stick to surfaces. When bees become active the next day and crawl across surfaces, those surfaces do not have any pesticide from their spray. The droplet size averages 15 micrometers. There are 1000 micrometers in a millimeter.  The MDA must have all machines tested, by law, twice a year. 

The MDA will announce all unscheduled sprays on @MdAgMosquito(Twitter) and through press releases. If you would like to receive notice of all UNSCHEDULED spraying, send your email to us at: mda.news@maryland.gov."