Public Health Department

WNV is usually transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. In 2016, there were 16 human cases of WNV infection identified in Massachusetts. While WNV can infect persons of all ages, people over the age of 50 are at higher risk for severe disease. Most people infected with WNV will have no symptoms. When present, WNV symptoms tend to include fever and flu-like illness. In rare cases, more severe illness can occur.

People have an important role to play in protecting themselves and their loved ones from illnesses caused by mosquitoes.

Avoid Mosquito Bites
Apply Insect Repellent when Outdoors. Use a repellent with an EPA-registered ingredient (DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide), permethrin, picaridin (KBR 3023), oil of lemon eucalyptus [p-methane 3, 8-diol (PMD)] or IR3535) according to the instructions on the product label. DEET products should not be used on infants under two months of age and should be used in concentrations of 30% or less on older children. Oil of lemon eucalyptus should not be used on children under three years of age.

Be Aware of Peak Mosquito Hours. The hours from dusk to dawn are peak biting times for many mosquitoes. Consider rescheduling outdoor activities that occur during evening or early morning in areas of high risk.

Clothing Can Help Reduce Mosquito Bites.
Wearing long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors will help keep mosquitoes away from your skin.

Mosquito-Proof Your Home
Drain Standing Water. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. Limit the number of places around your home for mosquitoes to breed by either draining or discarding items that hold water. Check rain gutters and drains. Empty any unused flowerpots and wading pools, and change the water in birdbaths frequently.

Install or Repair Screens.
Keep mosquitoes outside by having tightly-fitting screens on all of your windows and doors.

Protect Your Animals
Animal owners should reduce potential mosquito breeding sites on their property by eliminating standing water from containers such as buckets, tires, and wading pools – especially after heavy rains. Water troughs provide excellent mosquito breeding habitats and should be flushed out at least once a week during the summer months to reduce mosquitoes near paddock areas. Horse owners should keep horses in indoor stalls at night to reduce their risk of exposure to mosquitoes. Owners should also speak with their veterinarian about mosquito repellents approved for use in animals and vaccinations to prevent WNV and EEE. If an animal is suspected of having WNV or EEE, owners are required to report to DAR, Division of Animal Health by calling 617-626-1795 and to the Department of Public Health by calling 617-983-6800.

More information, including all WNV and EEE positive results, can be found on the Arbovirus Surveillance Information web page at www.mass.gov/dph/mosquito or by calling the DPH Epidemiology Program at 617-983-6800.

Property Pesticide Exclusion Request

Residents who request their property be excluded from all pesticide applications (including larvicide as well as adulticide) must comply with the legal process to exempt their property (333 CMR Section 13.03), individuals may request exclusion from wide area applications of pesticides.  This includes applications performed by the Mosquito Control Project/District that may provide services in your city/town.

Requests must be made to the Department of Agricultural Resources in accordance with 333 CMR 13.03 and will go into effect fourteen (14) days from the date the request is received by the departments. All exclusion requests expire on December 31st of the calendar year in which it was made.  The exclusion request may be accessed from either our districts website or directly from the Department of Agricultural website (the site links will be updated when we receive notification from DAR).

Online Property Exclusion Request Form

www.Nemassmosquito.org
Resident Services – Property Pesticide Exclusion Request
Please use the forms (when available) provided and submit

There are no documents

This form must be submitted by certified letter dated between January 1 and March 1, of the year the exclusion is requested, to the Municipal Clerk in the town in which the property exists. The exclusion will run from April 1 of that year to March 31 of the following year.

Property exclusion from pesticide application (“no sprays”)

New legislation has been adopted for property exclusions from pesticide application.  MDAR will be handling the requests from the public through an online service. This year they will be accepting exclusions that come to Town/City Clerks as they have in the past; prior to the March 1st deadline.

The NEMMC District has not received complete information regarding the process from MDAR and SRB. Essentially property owners will be able to submit exclusion requests to the MDAR/SRB directly, either by mail or online (system is not yet finalized). Property owners will be able to submit exclusions that will go into effect 14 days after exclusion has been received by MDAR/SRB. The State will forward the exclusions to the Districts, with date received by State is the starting time for the 14 day notice.
 
NEMMC will be forwarding you additional information as we receive updates.  We will pick up any exclusions that come to the Town/City Clerks as we have in the past. (We will do this after March 1, 2017.)

This new process will remove the responsibility of the collection of exclusions from Town/City Clerks for the ensuing years.

Thank you for your past assistances in this process, we will keep you up-to-date as we are informed.

We will have a new Website going online soon once we receive complete information from the state we will have a link for property exclusions.

John Moak
Acting Executive Director NEMMC

Nahant/State No Smoking Regualtion – Effective July 5, 2004
The Board of Health (Selectmen) and our health officials are committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for all our residents. According, please download and read our new State Law regarding smoking in public places that goes into effect on July 5, 2004. The document is an Acrobat PDF. Other resources and information are provide below courtesy of our State website mass.gov.

Although most legislation in Massachusetts limiting youth access to tobacco products and providing protection from secondhand smoke is passed and enforced at the local level, the following Massachusetts General Laws apply to all communities in Massachusetts:

Summary of all MA State laws (MGL) related to Tobacco