2008 News

July 1, 2008

Pennsylvania DEP Officials to Spray Bucks County Delaware River Basin for Black Flies July 2
Helicopters to Be Visible between Portland, PA and Yardley, PA

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, as a public-safety measure of its routine environmental treatment program, will conduct a black fly suppression operation on Wednesday, July 2, beginning at 8:00 a.m. The helicopter applicators will start in Northampton County and continue south and west toward the Yardley/Trenton, NJ area throughout the day.

Residents of Delaware River communities should be advised that helicopter pilots may use several landing sites during this operation, including the Riegelsville Borough Park, the Erwinna/Delaware Valley Fire Co. Landing Zone in Tinicum Twp., and the Slack Road Farm Landing Zone in Upper Makefield Twp.

The operation will include a gray Bell OH-58 helicopter with red and blue stripes bearing the tail number N654HA. Pilots will be applying VECTOBAC 12AS to the waterways to reduce the numbers of adult black flies that hatch from the river and streams. The product is a brown, slightly sticky liquid with a fish-like odor. Its active ingredient is a naturally occurring soil bacterium and not a synthetic pesticide. A product label is available upon request. The VECTOBAC 12AS is applied perpendicular to the stream flow in multiple locations along the rivers and streams.

For additional information about black fly suppression, please visit the Web site www.depweb.state.pa.us/blackfly.