Black Fly Spraying to Continue Wednesday

A helicopter will again be spraying the area for black flies.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced Tuesday it will spray for black flies Wednesday along the Delaware River in Bucks County. Spraying was done once earlier this month.

Spraying will begin around 9 a.m. at the Thorpe Farm property in Upper Makefield Township.  Work should progress north up the Delaware River.

According to information from Bucks County, spraying will involve the application of Vectobac 12AS (a brown, viscous, liquid material that smells like fish oil) from a helicopter. 

The helicopter will apply the Vectobac perpendicular to the river flow in designated areas by flying back and forth across the river and discharging the material from a boom arm, according to the county. The material is then carried downriver. The active ingredient in Vectobac is Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, a naturally occurring soil bacterium.

AgAir, the scheduled contractor, will use a Bell Jet Ranger with tail number N16979.

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