Due to the recent identification of mosquito pools positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) virus in North
Reading, the Peabody Health Department has announced that the Northeast Massachusetts Mosquito Control
district (NEMMC) will conduct targeted pesticide treatment in Peabody. The treatment will consistent of a
truck-mounted spray targeting adult mosquitoes, as well as vegetation barrier application of adulticide, at public
parks with athletic fields.
Parks to be sprayed include: Buckley Field; Burke Field; Carroll Savage Park; Connolly Park; Corbiel Park;
Donahue Fields; Emerson Park; Farnham Park; Forest St. Park; Higgins Middle School fields; James St.
Playground; Kennedy Fields; Kiley Field; Lalikos Park; Marrs Park; O’Connor Fields; Raddin Road Park; Ross
Park; Symphony Park; MacArthur Park; McCarthy Playground; Jubilee Park; Brown Playground; Driscoll Mini
Pitch. A map of the treatment areas is available at www.peabody-ma.gov.
The treatment is scheduled to occur between 7:30 p.m. – midnight on Tuesday, September 10, 2024 but may be
adjusted to the following available night(s) due to weather conditions.
The vehicle used for spraying is a mid-sized white pickup truck marked with the NEMMC seal, which will be
driving slowly through the designated areas with yellow lights activated. Residents and pets should remain
indoors and close doors and windows on the street side when the truck is in their area; windows can be
reopened a half hour after the truck passes. Air conditioners may remain on. More information about spraying
can be found at https://www.mass.gov/info-details/mosquito-control-and-spraying.
In addition to the adulticiding treatment, the NEMMC has increased surveillance (mosquito trapping) and
larviciding (killing mosquito larvae) in Peabody.
Although the risk for West Nile Virus and EEE in Peab
ody is considered low, the Health Department would
like to remind residents that the most important way to protect yourself against mosquito-borne illness is
through taking personal precautions. Use insect repellent when outdoors (not just at dusk and dawn, as there are
daytime biting mosquitoes), wear long sleeves or other protective clothing when outdoors, minimize outdoor
activity between dusk and dawn, eliminate standing water around the home, use netting over baby carriages and
outdoor playpens, and repair any holes in screens to keep mosquitoes outside.More detailed information is available at https://www.nemassmosquito.org/sites/g/files/vyhlif4751/f/uploads/2024faq_residential_adulticide.pdf,
https://www.mass.gov/mosquito-borne-diseases, and on the City’s webpage at www.peabody-ma.gov
