Provided by the Bucks County Health Department:
An aerial black fly (gnat) suppression operation is scheduled for Wednesday, August 28, and Thursday August 29, on the Delaware River, Neshaminy Creek, Schuylkill River, Perkiomen Creek, Tulpehocken Creek, and Lehigh River.
This operation will begin at 8 a.m. on August 28 from Wings in Field Montgomery County and will proceed up the Schuylkill River and the Perkiomen and Tulpehocken Creek, followed by the Lehigh River, Delaware River, and Neshaminy Creek.
The direction of the spray operation will be determined during operations and will be based on weather and flight conditions over the two days.
This aerial application will include flights in Montgomery, Berks, Schuylkill, Lehigh, Northampton, and Bucks Counties. Flights will only occur during daylight hours. The helicopter will be a Bell 206 Long Ranger with the tail number N660HA and is painted white with red, blue, and gray stripes.
Helicopter Applicators Inc. will be dispersing Vectobac 12AS, which is a B.t.i. product manufactured by Valent Biosciences. The B.t.i. material is a naturally occurring bacteria (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) that kills the immature (larval) form of the black fly when they feed on it in the waterways. This application of B.t.i. is not toxic to fish or other aquatic macroinvertebrates found in the treated waterways. The material is only applied to the surface of the water and not sprayed.
This work does NOT involve a helicopter spraying over the entire county. This work is targeted to portions of specifically mentioned waterways. The helicopter will apply B.t.i. to the water at designated areas every few miles along the treated waterways. Application is done by first circling the area to look for people on the ground or obstructions in the air. Then, the helicopter will fly perpendicular to the water flow (whenever possible) and apply the B.t.i. material which is a brown, viscous liquid with a fish oil odor directly to the water.
More information regarding the Black Fly Suppression Program and county participation can be found here.
Product labels and SDS sheets are below.
Vectobac Label
Vectobac SDS Sheet
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