Germ Warfare On Mosquitoes . . .

. . . sounds creepy when you put it that way:

In an ongoing campaign to prevent a possible outbreak of West Nile virus, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) has announced yet another round of helicopter missions to eliminate mosquito larvae.

According to DOHMH, the helicopters will be dropping “natural bacterial granules” on non-residential marshlands in Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx, on Thursday, August 16, Friday, August 17 and Monday, August 20, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day. In case of rain, the campaign will continue the following day.

DOHMH says the “larvicide” pellets are meant to kill the mosquito larvae, which live near the surface of pools of stagnant water, before they can emerge as adult insects.

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The agents being used by DOHMH are VectoBac CG and/or VectoLex CG, which contain a bacteria, bacillus thuringiensis israelensis.