2009 News

April 21, 2009

Pennsylvania DEP to Spray Bucks County Delaware River Basin for Black Flies on Wednesday, April 22
Helicopter to Take Flight between Slateford, PA and Yardley, PA

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, as a public-safety measure of its routine environmental treatment program, will conduct a black fly suppression operation on Wednesday, April 22, beginning at 8:00 a.m. The helicopter applicators will start in Northampton County and continue south and west throughout the day.

Residents of Bucks County’s Delaware River communities should be advised that helicopter pilots may use several landing sites during this operation, including the Riegelsville Borough Park, the Erwinna/Delaware Valley Fire Co. in Tinicum Township, and the Slack Road Farm in Upper Makefield Township.

The operation will include a light gray (with red and blue stripes) Bell OH-58 helicopter with the tail number N653HA. Pilots will be applying VECTOBAC 12AS to waterways to reduce the numbers of adult black flies that hatch from the river and streams. The product is a brown, slightly sticky liquid with a fish like odor. Its active ingredient is a naturally occurring soil bacterium and not a synthetic pesticide. It will be applied perpendicular to the stream flow in multiple locations along the rivers and streams by a low-flying helicopter. A product label is available upon request.

For additional information about black fly suppression, please visit the website www.depweb.state.pa.us/blackfly.