Trucks will be spraying pesticides around East Boston, West Roxbury and Hyde Park over the next couple of days to get the mosquito population under control, after human cases of EEE and West Nile virus were reported.
The truck-mounted aerosol sprayers will begin spraying after sunset Monday in East Boston along Orient Avenue, and nearby Boardman Street, Andrew Road and Horace Street.
Spraying will start in West Roxbury Tuesday near Centre, Grove, Washington and Lagrange streets as well as Enneking Parkway and Turtle Pond Parkway in Hyde Park.
The Suffolk County Mosquito Project, which leads the effort, advises residents to go inside and close their windows for a couple of minutes while the spray dissipates if they see a spray truck approaching.
The chemicals being sprayed contain a pesticide called “sumithrin," which doesn’t pose a “significant” threat to people or pets, according to the Public Health Commission.
Last week, the first human cases of EEE and West Nile Virus were reported – both illnesses are transmitted by mosquitoes that can be dangerous. Massachusetts saw its most active EEE season last year since 1956, with 12 human cases and six deaths.
