Mosquito questions, answered
Does NYC Spray for Mosquitoes?
The City's Two Methods
New York City fights mosquitoes with two tools, and they target different life stages. The first is aerial larviciding. Helicopters drop a low-risk larvicide over marshes, wetlands, and other large natural breeding areas, killing young mosquitoes before they ever become adults. The city does not use helicopters over residential neighborhoods.
The second is adulticiding. Trucks spray a fine pesticide in residential areas and parks in the evening, when mosquitoes are most active. This targets adult mosquitoes directly and is used when surveillance shows a high risk to human health.
The two methods complement each other. Larviciding keeps the next generation from ever hatching, which is the most efficient kind of control. Adulticiding handles the mosquitoes that slipped through, the ones already biting. Together they cover the full life cycle, and both are applied by trained crews under strict label directions. Both methods follow city, state, and federal law, and both are aimed at one thing: reducing the risk of mosquito-borne disease, especially West Nile virus.
How the City Decides When to Spray
Spraying is not on a fixed schedule. Each summer, trained staff set traps at hundreds of locations across the five boroughs and test the catch weekly. Mosquitoes are grouped into pools of up to 50 and tested for West Nile virus and other viruses like eastern equine encephalitis and Jamestown Canyon virus.
West Nile virus has shown up in New York City mosquitoes every year since 1999. In 2026, the numbers jumped: out of more than 2,000 pools tested, 612 came back positive, nearly double the prior year, according to USA Today. When surveillance points to rising risk in an area, that is when the trucks roll. Every positive pool is a data point that shapes the next spray decision.
The testing is relentless by design. Catching a virus spike early is what lets the city spray a neighborhood before human cases appear, rather than after. Larviciding runs through the season in known breeding areas. Adulticiding is the escalation step, reserved for moments when the data says people are at real risk.
How You Find Out Before a Spray
The Health Department gives at least 24 hours of advance notice before any pesticide application. The easiest way to get it is to register with Notify NYC through 311 or the web, which sends alerts for both ground spraying and aerial larviciding in your neighborhood.
The city also notifies local media, posts flyers in high-traffic areas of the affected neighborhoods, and distributes fact sheets in several languages to community organizations, elected officials, libraries, and senior care facilities.
Staten Island sees its share of these alerts, especially around the marshes and wetlands where aerial larviciding is routine. If you live near Fresh Kills or the Greenbelt, signing up for Notify NYC is the simplest way to stay informed. The alerts are free, they take minutes to set up, and a spray event should never come as a surprise.
What to Do During a Spray Event
The city’s guidance is simple: whenever possible, stay indoors during spraying. Close windows and keep pets inside until the trucks have passed.
The products used in recent seasons include adulticides such as Anvil 10+10, Duet, and Merus 3.0, alongside larvicides for catch basins and water bodies. If you have a stronger reaction after a spray event, the city directs you to call the Poison Control Center at 212-POISONS or talk to your doctor.
Spraying usually happens in the evening, when most mosquitoes are active and most people are indoors. If you are out walking the dog when a truck passes, move inside and close up until it has gone by. The trucks move slowly so the spray settles where mosquitoes fly. For most people, the evening truck spray is a minor inconvenience, and the Health Department monitors control activities for environmental and health effects, including pre- and post-spray sampling.
What City Spraying Can't Do for Your Backyard
Here is the honest limit. The city’s program is built to prevent disease across five boroughs, not to make your barbecue comfortable. It does not accept requests for pesticide application, so you cannot call 311 and ask for your block to be sprayed.
And the biggest source of biting mosquitoes in Staten Island is not the marshes the helicopters treat. It is the containers in our own yards: the clogged gutters, the forgotten buckets, the plant saucers, the tires. Aedes mosquitoes, the aggressive daytime biters, breed in containers within a few hundred feet of where they bite.
It is also worth knowing what the trucks are not: they are not a substitute for source reduction. Every container you dump is a breeding site the city never has to treat, which is the cheapest and most effective control there is. That is the gap Bite Back fills. We started years ago treating backyards in New Jersey, and we are now bringing that same focused service to Staten Island. The city handles the marshes and the disease surveillance. We handle your yard, the breeding sites, and the shrubs where mosquitoes rest all day.
Your Part in the City's Plan
The city actually requires residents to eliminate standing water on their property. That is not a suggestion; it is part of how the whole program works. The helicopters cannot reach your birdbath.
Walk your property weekly during the season. Dump containers, clear gutters, refresh birdbaths, and cover rain barrels. Report persistent breeding sites you cannot fix yourself, like a clogged catch basin or an abandoned pool, through 311. The city can treat public water; private water is on the owner. Knowing which is which keeps the system working.
And talk to your neighbors. Mosquitoes do not respect property lines, and one neglected yard can supply the whole block. Every breeding site you remove is one the city never has to spray for. It is the least glamorous part of mosquito control, and the most effective.
Quick answers
Does NYC spray for mosquitoes?
Yes. The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene runs aerial larviciding by helicopter over marshes and wetlands, and truck-based adulticide spraying in residential areas when West Nile virus surveillance shows high risk. Residents get at least 24 hours of advance notice through Notify NYC.
How do I know when NYC is spraying my neighborhood?
Register with Notify NYC through 311 or the web for direct alerts. The Health Department also notifies local media, posts flyers in high-traffic areas 24 to 72 hours ahead, and shares fact sheets with community organizations and elected officials.
What pesticides does NYC use for mosquitoes?
Recent seasons have used adulticides including Anvil 10+10, Duet, and Merus 3.0 for targeted adult mosquito control, plus larvicide products for catch basins and water bodies. Larvicides go into the water; adulticides are reserved for targeted adult control. All applications follow city, state, and federal law.
Can I request mosquito spraying in Staten Island?
No. The Health Department does not accept requests for pesticide application. Spraying decisions are driven by mosquito surveillance and virus testing, not by complaints. The program targets disease risk across the boroughs, which is why handling your own yard matters so much.
Is NYC mosquito spray safe?
The city uses EPA-registered products according to the label and monitors for environmental and health effects. During a spray event, stay indoors if you can. If you have a strong reaction, call the Poison Control Center at 212-POISONS or contact your doctor.
The City Fights Disease. We Fight Backyard Bites.
City spraying protects the five boroughs from West Nile virus, but it was never designed to make your yard comfortable. Bite Back started years ago treating backyards in New Jersey and is now bringing that same service to Staten Island. We will treat the breeding sites and resting spots the trucks never reach.
Or call (866) 792-8284.
Main photo via Pexels