Monmouth County health officials say they will spray for mosquitoes in two residential areas of the county this week, where evidence of West Nile Virus has been discovered.

Mosquito on human hand
ThinkStock
loading...

The first area includes residential streets in Atlantic Highlands and Middletown's Hillside section, the county said in a statement. The second area will include Lake Como, Wall Township's West Belmar section, Spring Lake Heights and Spring Lake. Mosquito Control crews will be in those area spraying pesticide on Tuesday from 4 to 6 a.m. as long as the weather is clear and the wind speed does not exceed 10 mph, the county said.

“The goal of the ground spray program is to reduce the public health risk from WNV in the area. We have already seen evidence that the previous spraying operations have reduced the number of mosquitoes in the southern Monmouth towns where the sprays occurred,” Freeholder Deputy Director Serena DiMaso, liaison to the Mosquito Control division, said in a statement. “It is also important to remember to always protect yourself from mosquitoes by wearing insect repellant when outdoors, even if it is only for a few minutes.”

According to the county, the following streets will be sprayed for mosquitoes Tuesday:

  • Residential streets in Atlantic Highlands east of First Avenue to Sears Avenue and north to E. Washington Avenue in Atlantic Highlands. Also, residential streets from Portland Avenue to Grand Avenue north of Hillside Avenue in the Hillside section of Middletown.
  • Residential streets south of 17th Avenue between Rt. 35 and Rt. 71 in Lake Como and Wall Township and on residential streets north of Wall Road between Rt. 35 and Rt. 71 in Spring Lake Heights.
  • Marucci Park in Spring Lake.

County officials are advising residents who live in those areas to keep themselves and their pets inside while the spraying takes place, just as a precaution. The county also recommends that residents bring children’s toys and pet bowls inside and turn off the intake fan in window air conditioners. 

The first human case of West Nile Virus in New Jersey was confirmed by the Department of Health on July 14. The health Department said a 48-year-old Camden County man wass hospitalized after he began experiencing symptoms on July 8, including a headache, encephalitis and an altered mental state.

So far this year, the virus has only been identified among mosquito populations in Atlantic and Monmouth counties, according to the NJDOH.

Toniann Antonelli is a social content producer for NJ 101.5. She can be reached at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.

More from NJ 101.5:

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM