Get text, email alert on mosquito spraying

Both Grand County and the Southeast Utah Health Department (SEUHD) are working to get information about mosquito risks in Moab, as well as the chemical spraying being used to combat them.

Both agencies are disseminating information via their websites, and Grand County now has the option for members of the public to subscribe to email and phone text message alerts regarding the Moab Mosquito Abatement District’s mosquito spraying schedule.

“Receive a notification whenever the Moab Mosquito Abatement District (MMAD) determines it is necessary to spray adulticide to control mosquito populations within the abatement district boundaries,” the county website states. “Notice will include a description of proposed area(s) to be sprayed and time window during which spraying will be done.”

To subscribe, go to www.grandcountyutah.net/subscribeNEWS and select Moab Mosquito Abatement District (MMAD) for email or phone text message alerts.

SEUHD is also posting the spraying schedule on their website, though with a major caveat.

“Though the Mosquito Abatement District makes every effort to plan their spraying schedule, there are certain days when they must react to larva maturing into adulthood, a process that cannot always be predicted,” the SUEHD website states.

“When this happens, notification time will be short. It is possible that spraying may occur on any evening between now and the first frost of the season.”

The SEUHD website states that the abatement district “is spraying with a pesticide named Biomist in order to control the spread of the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the Moab area.”

The website also states “though permethrin has been demonstrated to be safe for use in residential and commercial areas, SEUHD recommends that individuals close their windows and turn off evaporative coolers during scheduled spraying times.”

To subscribe, go to www.grandcountyutah.net/subscribeNEWS and select Moab Mosquito Abatement District (MMAD) for email or phone text message alerts.