Mosquito spraying canceled for 2015

The Orange County Vector Control District Thursday canceled plans for an aerial spraying of parts of Orange County in an effort reduce the adult mosquito populations during the peak West Nile Virus transmission period.

No aerial applications have been conducted or will be conducted for the remainder of the 2015 mosquito season, OC Vector Control officials said.

The district received notification that the permitting process to enter restricted airspace over Orange County can take up to five business days. If granted, the district would have to reinstate its notification process to all affected communities and municipalities.

In respect to requests by the public to be afforded more time to receive this information and get answers to any concerns or general inquiries about the application, the district would have to extend the pre-flight notification period, district officials said.

In consideration of these factors, aerial applications are no longer planned for the 2015 season, district officials said.

The district asks that the public remains vigilant with personal protective clothing and mosquito repellents. Residents should inspect their yards for standing water after the recent rainfall where mosquitoes can breed.

Go to the Vector Control website at www.ocvcd.org for more information about West Nile virus.

Dynamic Aviation, the subcontracted flight services provider for the operation, was not able to secure final permission for the federal temporary flight restriction over approximately half of the established spray block.

“The safety of any mosquito control operation is our primary concern, and appropriate communications with regulatory bodies is of paramount importance. As we could not safely recommend flight operations in that area without the requisite permits, we recommended to OCMVCD to delay the operation, ” Dynamic Aviation officials said.