Provided by the County of Bucks:
Credit: Cindy Johnson
On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will conduct aerial black fly suppression operations along the Delaware River in Bucks and Northampton counties as well as Mercer, Hunterdon and Warren Counties in New Jersey.
The spray targets larvae growing in waterways before hatching as black flies (biting gnats), leaving their aquatic habitat to affect both animals and people. The black fly suppression program reduces the population, providing relief for outdoor recreation in spring and summer months.
Work on the Delaware River will begin at approximately 8 a.m. between the Delaware Water Gap (Northampton/Monroe county line) working south to the Trenton city limits.
Aerial operations involve the application of Vectobac 12AS (a brown, viscous, liquid material that smells like fish oil and has a chocolate milk appearance) from a helicopter. The helicopter will apply the Vectobac perpendicular to the river flow in designated areas by flying back and forth across the river and discharging the material from a boom arm. The material is then carried downriver. The active ingredient in Vectobac is Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (B.t.i.), a naturally occurring soil bacterium. A product label and SDS for Vectobac 12AS are available upon request.
The helicopter will apply the B.t.i. to designated areas every few miles along the treated waterways. Application is done by first circling the area to look for people on the ground/in the water or for obstructions in the air. The application of B.t.i. is not toxic to fish or other aquatic macroinvertebrates found in the treated waterways.
Helicopter Applicators, Inc. of Gettysburg, PA is the scheduled contractor and will be using a gray (with red and blue stripes) Bell 206 helicopter with the tail number N660HA. For additional information about black fly suppression, please visit the website http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/blackfly.
