Oh, the Humanité: Mosquito Spraying Continues.

I'm pretty sure that the DOH is just REALLY excited about spraying pesticides in residential neighborhoods. How many people in NYC get West Nile Virus?

Whatever.

Queens, you've won the lottery tonight (23rd of August) AND August 25th. Brooklyn, you only get sprayed on the 25th.

August 23 8:00PM - 6:00AM

Spraying in Queens • Neighborhoods: Auburndale, Briarwood, Flushing, Kew Gardens, Kew Gardens Hills, Queensboro Hill and Pomonok • Zip codes: 11355,11365 11358, 11367, 11415, 11418 and 11435 • Pesticide to be used: Anvil 10+10 (Sumithrin)

August 23

8:00PM - 6:00AM

Spraying in Queens

• • Neighborhoods: Auburndale, Briarwood, Flushing, Kew Gardens, Kew Gardens Hills, Queensboro Hill and Pomonok
• • Zip codes: 11355,11365 11358, 11367, 11415, 11418 and 11435
• • Pesticide to be used: Anvil 10+10 (Sumithrin)

August 25 8:00PM - 6:00AM

Spraying in Queens • Neighborhoods: Bellerose, Douglas Manor, Oakland Gardens, Douglaston, Little Neck, Glen Oaks, Floral Park, Hollis Hills • Zip codes: 11362,11363 11364,11426 and 11427 • Pesticide to be used: Anvil 10+10 (Sumithrin)

August 25

8:00PM - 6:00AM

Spraying in Queens

• • Neighborhoods: Bellerose, Douglas Manor, Oakland Gardens, Douglaston, Little Neck, Glen Oaks, Floral Park, Hollis Hills
• • Zip codes: 11362,11363 11364,11426 and 11427
• • Pesticide to be used: Anvil 10+10 (Sumithrin)

August 25 8:00PM - 6:00AM

Spraying in Brooklyn • Neighborhoods: Coney Island, Sea Gate, Gravesend , Bath Beach, Brighton Beach • Zip codes: 11214, 11223 and 11224 • Pesticide to be used: Anvil 10+10 (Sumithrin)

August 25

8:00PM - 6:00AM

Spraying in Brooklyn

• • Neighborhoods: Coney Island, Sea Gate, Gravesend , Bath Beach, Brighton Beach
• • Zip codes: 11214, 11223 and 11224
• • Pesticide to be used: Anvil 10+10 (Sumithrin)

I'll warn you now that if you have hives in or close around these neighborhoods, you will see some losses of your foraging bees. Most will likely die out in the field, but some will make it back to the hive and get tossed out by the undertaker bees, so you might see more corpses than usual. Don't panic unless you see so many bodies that the bees can't keep up and you start to see them collected in large numbers on the bottom board.

However, there are some methods to minimize the number of bees killed by the sprays. For the full write up check out my previous post on the subject- Pesticide Sprays: Keep Your Hive Alive.

If you can't be bothered, here's the tl;dr version:

The short version:
1.) In the EVENING BEFORE THE SPRAY: Close up your hives with screen mesh blocking the entrance and a wet, breathable cloth draped over the front of your hive. This will prevent direct exposure of the bees to the pesticide, and help prevent the hive from getting covered with chemicals.
2.) In the MORNING AFTER THE SPRAY: Open the hive back up by removing the cloth and screen. This prevents your hive from overheating.
3.) GORGE YOUR HIVES with artificial feed (sugar syrup and pollen supplement) before and for several days AFTER the spray. This minimizes (but does not eliminate) the number of bees actively foraging and being exposed to residual pesticides.

P.S.

Dear NYC DOH,
Why are two of the areas you are spraying shaped like penises? Is this a message of some sort?
Best,
Tim