LYNNFIELD — The state Department of Public Health has elevated the town’s West Nile virus risk level to moderate, which will be in effect until the first hard frost.
A hard, or killing, frost is two consecutive hours of temperatures less than 28 degrees Fahrenheit or three consecutive hours of temperatures less than 32 degrees, according to the Northeast Massachusetts Mosquito Control and Wetlands Management District. This will occur at different times for different communities, and there may even be variation within communities based on local geography.
Kimberly Foss, an entomologist with the Northeast Massachusetts Mosquito Control and Wetlands Management District, said the district has traps in Lynnfield that are collected with viable samples and submitted weekly to the DPH for testing.
Surveillance is scheduled to end on Oct. 1 for the season, she said.
The Lynnfield Health Department was notified of the elevated risk level on Sept. 4, Health Director Coral Hope said.
The department proactively took preventative measures and sprayed all of the fields at the high school on Sept. 3, she said.
The town is encouraging residents to protect themselves from mosquito bites, especially during the peak hours of the early morning and dusk.
In line with DPH recommendations, the town is advising residents to use insect repellents with DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide), permethrin, picaridin (KBR 3023), IR3535, or oil of lemon eucalyptus (p-methane 3, 8-diol [PMD]); wear clothing with long sleeves, long pants, and socks when outdoors to protect one’s skin; remove areas of stagnant water around their homes; and avoid being outside from dusk to dawn, when mosquitoes are most active.
Residents can contact the Northeast Massachusetts Mosquito Control and Wetlands Management District through its website to have their properties inspected and treated, Hope said.
The services are included in the town’s plan and do not cost residents anything out of pocket, she said.
The virus is not something residents should be excessively concerned about, Hope said.
“The precautions are what is going to keep you safe,” she said.
