An aerial black fly suppression operation is scheduled for Thursday, August 4th on the Juniata River, Conewago Creek, Swatara Creek, Conodoguinet Creek, and Sherman Creek. This operation will begin in Adams County at 0630am and work towards Huntingdon County. This aerial application will include flights in Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin, Perry and York Counties. The helicopter will be a Bell 206 with the tail number N655HA and is painted white with red and blue stripes. Please note, there will also be experimental treatments later in the day on the Juniata River within Juniata, Mifflin, and Perry Counties.
In addition, a hand application will be conducted on the Tuscarora Creek. The application will be conducted by DEP biologists using a backpack sprayer in the stream and from bridges.
Helicopter Applicators Inc. will be dispersing Vectobac 12AS, which is a Bti product manufactured by Valent Biosciences. Bti is short for Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis, which is a bacterial larvicide, not a chemical, and is the only product used in Pennsylvania's waterways for black fly suppression. Vectobac 12AS is a thick brown liquid resembling chocolate milk. The helicopter will fly low near tree top level and release the Vectobac at various predetermined positions on each stream. Attached is a copy of the Vectobac label and an SDS sheet in case you would need information on the product.
If you have any questions regarding these operations or the Program in general, please contact me at 717-265-4834 or email me at mgochnauer@pa.gov.
Vectobac-12AS-MSDS-6-22-2015.pdf
Original source can be found here.
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