ULV Fogger information
The Cache Mosquito Abatement District's ULV (ultra low volume) foggers utilizes G.P.S. for Speed Compensation Flow Control of insecticide output. What this means is that the fogger will put out product faster or slower according to the speed of the truck. The foggers are calibrated once a year to output 8 oz. per minute. Most of that is a mineral oil that is the carrier agent for the insecticide. There is the equivalent of an aspirin size amount of insecticide in the area of a football stadium that is put out each minute. The Speed compensation flow control will adjust that output according to the speed. For instance, if the truck is going 5 mph the flow control will slow down the RPM's of the fogger so that it continues to put out the 8 oz. per minute. If the truck is going 20 mph the flow control will speed up the RPM's so that it is still putting out the 8 oz. per minute. If the truck goes over the 20 mph the flow control will shut the pump off completely and not put out any product until the speed comes down to 20 mph or lower.
The GPS handheld unit inside the cab of the truck is hooked to the ULV fogger and tracks the speed of the truck and the amount of spray that is being put out by the fogger. CMAD has a lot of area to cover in Cache Valley. We cover from Lewiston to Avon and have to hit all the towns each week. We have four ULV foggers that work Monday - Thursday to cover those areas. There is also a time frame that the mosquitoes are active before fogging becomes less effective. So the employees are going the speed that is beneficial to all constituents in the valley that we provide service for.
CMAD sprays in the evening between dusk and dawn because most WNV carrying mosquitoes are the most active during this time, also it is when air temperature is lowest allowing spray droplets to reach close to the ground where mosquitoes are flying, and when honey bees are back in their hives.