NYC Helicopters to Spray Pesticides to Prevent Mosquitos Today, Despite Air Quality

By Yehudit Garmaise

NYC helicopters will be swirling overhead from 6am to 7pm: this Thursday and Friday, June 8 and 9, and then again on Monday, June 12, if necessary, to spray pesticides onto New York City’s marshes and wetlands, which are all nonresidential areas. 

The Health Department aims to decimate mosquito breeding grounds and reduce the risks of the West Nile virus, which thankfully, has not infected anyone yet this season.  

The Health Department uses a strategy called “larvicide,” which works by dropping chemicals that are approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EP) to kill mosquito larvae before they can grow into “adults” to wreak havoc. 

In warm and humid weather, mosquitoes breed in any still water that has been standing for more than five days.

For residents wondering whether city’s plan to spray for mosquitoes was at all affected by the poor air quality, BoroPark24 reached out to the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

“Yes, the spray event went forward as planned when we determined visibility was sufficient,” said Pedro F. Frisneda, the press secretary of the city’s health department. “Early season larviciding is critical to protecting New Yorkers  from West Nile Virus.”