The U.S. Air Force conducted aerial mosquito spraying operations Tuesday in York County, a process some residents say is troublesome because of the spray’s effects on bee populations and broader concerns about the necessity of spraying.
A modified C-130 Hercules aircraft sprayed Dibrom Concentrate around the county, dropping a half ounce per acre — half the rate approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Tom Gallagher, the superintendent of York County’s mosquito control operations, said the spraying is a “last resort,” done on an as-needed basis after volunteer observers have noted a need for the spraying.
A scheduled spray for York County in July was canceled after the observers and Gallagher determined it was not necessary.
Gallagher said a rise in the salt marsh mosquito population made Tuesday’s spraying necessary. The county issues warnings to citizens who raise bees, instructing them to cover their hives as Dibrom can affect bees in addition to mosquitoes.
Tabb resident Carol Bartram, whose husband Scott raises bees, said they found between 100 and 150 dead bees in front of their hive Tuesday night after spraying operations were finished.
“The ones in front of the hives are the ones who managed to make it back,” Bartram said. “There will be a lot of bees out foraging, and many of those don’t make it back to the hive.”
She said she and her husband used a misting system to protect their bees during this round of spraying. In the past they used plastic to cover the hive, but they still had losses from what she said is an unnecessary action.
“York County is a place where we have mosquitoes, and I would just rather people take personal responsibility for controlling their mosquito bites, like wearing long-sleeve clothes or spraying on themselves,” said Tabb resident Carol Bartram. “I don’t feel like everybody should be sprayed. I would like the choice.”
Beekeeper Gwyn Williams — who lives in Tabb’s Calthrop Neck neighborhood — said he found more than 1,000 dead bees around his hives despite protective measures he took, including the installation of water sprays around his hives. He said other area beekeepers told him of bees dying following Tuesday’s spraying.
“If the bees are dead, you can begin to imagine the devastation to the other insect life,” Williams said. “There’s nothing on my butterfly bushes, bumblebees, wild bees, all kinds of things are gone. I think [the spraying] does more harm than good.”
Williams said he wondered why the plane did not spray at dusk, when bees tend to be inside their hives instead of outdoors. He said the plane came by his home around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. He said last year he did not lose any bees when the planes sprayed at dusk.
Both Bartram and Williams said they have been in touch with officials from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services concerning the spraying and the death of their bees.
Andrea Turner, who lives near the York County side of the border with Poquoson, said residents should have a say in what they are exposed to.
“What really rubs me the wrong way is that I have no say,” Turner said. “They’re telling me I have to live underneath the airplane flying overhead spraying poison.”
Turner cited an environmental assessment conducted in 1997 concerning aerial mosquito spraying in the county, pointing out a line that says “the application would be timed so as not to coincide with schoolchildren being outdoors during the school year.” The Air Force plane was spotted flying near Tabb High School on Tuesday as student athletes practiced outside.
Gallagher said he respects the wishes of beekeepers and that he checked Wednesday morning with Langley Air Force Base, which maintains a hive to watch it for any problems during spraying operations. None were reported there.
“If the beekeepers didn’t do what they should have, I have no control over that,” Gallagher said. He said Dibrom is the most effective aerial spray on the market and that it’s a safe chemical approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Don Wiggins, the vice chairman of the York County Board of Supervisors, said many citizens have contacted board members asking who voted for and against the spraying. He said the spraying has been in effect for as long as he can remember — more than 30 years, according to Gallagher, who said the Air Force once sprayed twice as much as it does now — and that he trusts Gallagher’s judgment on mosquito control.
“We give the beekeepers ample time to get the beehives covered up,” Wiggins said. “We always have. This is a practice we’ve done for years and years and years. The people around here know that and have been expecting it. We have a lot of mosquitoes in Seaford and Dandy. We have a terrible time with them — you can’t go outside without them. This is the way Tom Gallagher controls [mosquitoes], and it’s the way the Board has learned to control [mosquitoes].”
York County and parts of Portsmouth adjacent to military installations are the only localities the Air Force sprays with Dibrom, though nearby military property including Langley Air Force Base, The Portsmouth Coast Guard Station and Craney Island are also sprayed.
The aerial sprays are the final step in York County’s response to mosquitoes. Much of the response comes in the form of spraying the pesticide Anvil from trucks, as well as placing larvicide — an insecticide targeting mosquitoes in their larval stage — in waters where mosquitoes breed.
Gallagher said the aerial spray will subdue the mosquito population for up to three weeks.
“We went out and checked [Wednesday] morning, and it appears to be right on the money,” he said. “We won’t do any more spraying this year.”
