Mosquito fogging scheduled next week

Pinal County Environmental Health Services announced Thursday mosquito fogging will be conducted in Maricopa 1 to 5 a.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Mosquitoes trapped during routine surveillance for West Nile virus tested positive, resulting in the need to fog the area to prevent transmission of the disease to humans.

Fogging will take place, weather permitting, in Cobblestone Farms and the western section of Rancho El Dorado in an area encompassing Santa Rosa Wash to the east, Mobile Road to the south, Sunset/Central Avenue to the west and Hiller Road alignment to the north.

The pesticide to be used during fogging is called Anvil. It is a pre-mixed, ready-to-use product that contains two active ingredients: Sumithrin (2 percent) and piperonyl butoxide (2 percent). Sumithrin is a manmade version of a natural pesticide found in chrysanthemum flowers. Piperonyl butoxide enhances the ability of Sumithrin to kill mosquitoes. Anvil is registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is effective against the mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus.

So far this year, Pinal County has had two laboratory-confirmed human cases of West Nile virus.

There are several things resident can do to reduce exposure during fogging:

• Close all windows and doors. Air conditioners can still be operated, but if they have vents to bring in outside air, they should be closed. Turn off evaporative coolers.
• Stay inside.
• If possible, bring pets inside.
• Resume normal activity 30 minutes after the end of the scheduled fogging each night.