The Northeast Massachusetts Mosquito Control and Wetlands Management District (NEMMC) has thirty-two subscribing municipalities, including Ipswich. Their mosquito control and surveillance program runs from the middle of the spring until the beginning of the fall, the time of the year most people are engaged in extensive outdoor activities.
NEMMC creates a Vector Management Plan (VMP) for the Mosquito Control District and a Best Management Practice Plan (BMP) for each of the municipalities within its District annually. District control efforts focus primarily on adult mosquito surveillance, virus testing and preemptive virus intervention strategies.
The Best Management Practice Plan for Ipswich is reviewed and approved by the Board of Health annually. This year the 2016 Best Management Practice Plan will be reviewed at the May 9, 2016 Board of Health meeting. The meeting will be held in Room C of Town Hall, 25 Green Street at 5:30pm. All are welcome to attend.
Every year the control measures in Ipswich’s BMP include aerial salt marsh larviciding, catch basin treatment, inspections and adulticiding. The 2015 BMP for Ipswich can be viewed at www.ipswichma.gov/publichealth under the resources tab or in the Public Health Office. No changes to the BMP are currently being proposed for 2016.
Larviciding: Targeted preemptive control measures are the most cost effective, efficient, and environmentally friendly way to reduce mosquito populations. Larviciding is the application of an insecticide into shallow water to control mosquitoes in their aquatic stages and prevent emergence as adult mosquitoes.
Catch Basin Treatments: An insecticide is applied to a catch basin, storm water structure, etc. to control mosquitoes in there aquatic stages and prevent emergences as adult mosquitoes.
Inspections: Inspections are done upon request. A resident can contact the Public Health Office and provide information regarding their particular area of concern. NEMMC does a site visit to determine if there are natural or artificial mosquito breeding areas that can be treated.
Adulticiding: Science based selective adulticiding for virus intervention only will be provided with recommendations from Northeast MA Mosquito Control of specific areas to be targeted with approval of the Board of Health, as circumstances warrant and conditions allow. Applications to schools must be in compliance with MGL ch85.
Notifications regarding adulticiding will be disseminated via the town website, the Ipswich Chronicle, The Salem News and the town’s notification system Smart911.
If you are not already signed up to receive notifications from Smart911, you can sign up by going to the town’s website www.ipswichma.gov and clicking on the Notify Me link on the home page.
If you have any questions, contact Colleen E. Fermon, Director of Public Health, at 978-356-6606 or by email at colleenf@ipswich-ma.gov
