Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Mosquito Control Program
From late May/early June through September, the City cooperates with the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) to identify and control mosquito populations with spraying and larviciding.
The program consists of:
- LARVICIDING STANDING WATER: Treatments are made monthly by MDA personnel to known areas of standing water to control mosquito larva that will prevent development into adult moquitoes.
- SPRAYING TO CONTROL ADULT MOSQUITOES: MDA has designated Wednesday night for adult mosquito spraying the City (when thresholds are met). Spraying will only begin after dark and may continue until midnight or later. If you see a truck in your community spraying during the day, please note that it is not from the State of Maryland. As a precaution, MDA advises residents to bring in pets, stay inside their homes and close their windows while the spray truck is in the vicinity. Please remain in your home for at least 30 minutes after the truck has left. If there are people outside when the truck passes by, MDA will not spray and will not return that night. Spray applications are made by truck-mounted ultra-low volume (ULV) sprayers. The spray schedule shifts, and the frequency will be determined by surveillance data collected and complaints received. This means that your neighborhood may or may not be sprayed each week.
In order for MDA personnel to spray, they will first survey the area/section of concern using traps and landing rate counts, (they may also request access to your property to place a trap for their survey). If mosquito count thresholds are met, they may make a control spray application in the neighborhood, but please be aware that they do not spray individual properties.
If you have any questions, please call MDA at 301-422-5080.
REQUEST FOR EXEMPTION FROM ADULT MOSQUITO CONTROL SERVICES
Residents can request exclusion from the adult spray program by completing an exemption form annually and return it to:
Program Supervisor, Mosquito Control Section
50 Harry S. Truman Parkway
Annapolis, MD 21401
If you don't have a printer, the local office for MDA Mosquito Control in College Park has offered to send residents a form via DocuSign. Send an email to skeetermd1.mda@maryland.gov to request the form be sent via DocuSign.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Visit the MDA’s Mosquito Control website (https://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/pages/mosquito_control.aspx) for more details about the program, including their policy, insecticides used, product labels and material safety data sheets (MSDS), and more.
Take control of mosquitoes in your yard
It takes a community working together to control the mosquito population. Mosquitoes may carry zika, west nile, dengue fever, chikungunya and heartworm in cats and dogs. Mosquitoes thrive in warm weather, but there are several things you can do to remove mosquito habitat from your yard.
- Dump and drain: If it holds standing water for longer than a few days, flip it over or drain it out (tires, tarps, animal bowls, flower pots, toys, wading pools).
- Dunk: If you can’t dump it or drain it (birdbaths, fish-ponds, persistent puddles) put mosquito dunks or mosquito torpedoes in the water. They kill the mosquito larva and do no harm to other species.
- Screen: Corrugated drainpipes are a mosquito breeding ground! Tie stretchable nylon (pantyhose) around the ends or replace with smooth PVC which doesn’t hold water.
The Maryland Department of Agriculture’s website has a wealth of information on mosquito control, visit their website at https://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Pages/mosquito_control.aspx, or call them at 410-841-5870.