Otter Creek Watershed Insect Control District
Overview
Residents of Lake Dunmore and Fern Lake are very fortunate to benefit from the services provided by the Otter Creek Watershed Insect Control District (OCW), formerly known informally as the BLSG. The OCW serves the member towns of Brandon, Goshen, Leicester, Pittsford, Proctor, and Salisbury. Spread throughout those six towns are over 16,000 acres of Class 2 wetlands and extensive forested areas, all of which are mosquito breeding habitat.
Mosquito control operations in this area were started in the 1960’s by Debbie Britten, Executive Secretary/Treasurer of the Lake Association. Heydon Hooker drove the spray truck over every road at both lakes. This process continued into the 1970’s when Virginia Wolf took over as Executive Secretary/Treasurer, whereupon the Towns of Salisbury and Leicester began contributing to covering the costs. In those days, the chemical used was DDT. When DDT’s harm was determined, more environmentally friendly substances were employed. In response to strongly supported local demand that something more be done about the nuisance mosquito problem in the area, the insect control district was organized in 1978. When mosquito control operations were taken over by the then-BLS (Goshen, Pittsford, and Proctor joined later), the Lake Association donated the truck and equipment to the district. Since then, two more trucks have been provided by the Association.
The OCW’s mission is to control nuisance mosquito and biting fly populations in member towns. Ongoing, effective insect control is critical to maintaining the quality of life that people in this area expect. To accomplish that mission, the OCW uses a variety of methods (referred to as Integrated Pest Management) in a manner consistent with the highest level of safety and minimal adverse impacts on humans, wildlife, and the environment.
The OCW is funded by the taxpayers of the towns being served, by a larvicide program grant from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets, and by an annual donation from the LDFLA. The OCW is governed by a Board of Trustees, comprised of two representatives and an alternate representative appointed by each member town’s Select Board. The Leicester and Salisbury Select Boards usually request that the LDFLA nominate an Association member to fill one each of those towns’ representative positions.
To request that your property be sprayed to control adult mosquitos please call the OCW at (802) 247-6779. When submitting a service request, please be prepared to provide the following information to assist OCW technicians in responding to your request:
Name
E-911 address
Contact telephone number(s)
Email address
Description of problem
If you wish to opt your property out of all spraying for control of adult mosquitos:
If a No Spray Zone request WAS NOT submitted for the preceding year and/or there have been changes in ownership, contact information, or property boundaries, a letter must be submitted listing the name(s) of the property owner(s), his/her/their contact telephone numbers, the E-911 address of the property, and include a property map which clearly shows the property boundaries along the public or private road(s). The OCW mailing address is: PO Box 188, Brandon, VT 05733.
If a No Spray Zone request WAS submitted for the preceding year AND there have been no changes in ownership, contact information, or property boundaries, an email to the OCW containing the E-911 address and requesting No Spray Zone status again for the current year will suffice. The OCW email address is ocwicd@gmail.com.
No Spray Zone requests must be renewed annually before April 15th. Requests received after April 15th will be honored, but there could be a delay between receipt of the request and marking the property, which could result in the property being sprayed.
