Third round of aerial spraying to begin Sept. 17

Sep 16, 2019

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources will conduct a third round of aerial spraying for mosquitoes starting on Tuesday, Sept. 17. 

The spraying is weather-dependent and will continue for several evenings. Rochester, Mattapoisett and Marion are entirely within the spray zone, other than excluded areas along the coast of Marion and Mattapoisett. 

Spraying will begin at 7 p.m. and continue until 4:30 a.m. 

The spray that the Department of Agricultural Resources uses kills mosquitoes on contact. Eliminating mosquitoes helps to decrease the risk of eastern equine encephalitis, a viral, mosquito-carried illness that has no cure. Marion and Rochester are currently at “critical” risk for the disease, while Mattapoisett is at “high” risk based on the number of mosquitoes in each town found with the virus. 

A man in Rochester was also diagnosed with the disease.