Mayor Thomas Suozzi is currently lobbying Nassau County for essential mosquito spraying only. The City has been in contact with the Nassau County Health Department on the heels of numerous phone calls to city hall from residents reporting dead crows found at the Glen Cove golf course, the high school football field, and the Landing area. Officially, six birds were reported to the Glen Cove Department of Public Works, however residents are calling in with reports of finding dead birds up to three weeks ago. The birds have to be dead 24 hours or less for tests, conducted by the county, to accurately determine whether or not the carcass is carrying virus. To date there have been no confirmed reports of the birds carrying the West Nile Encephalitis virus. Residents of Glen Cove should call the County Health Department to report a dead bird and with any questions or concerns regarding birds or mosquitoes. Anyone reporting a dead bird to the county is also asked to call the Glen Cove Public Works Department at 676-4402 which is maintaining a log on behalf of the city.

"Nassau County Health Department has sole jurisdiction over this matter and the decision to spray is ultimately in the hands of the county," said Mayor Suozzi. As of Sept. 29, the county definitely will not be spraying, if they decide to spray at all, until after Oct. 1 because rainy weather has been forecast. The mayor said he has been assured that there will be no aerial spraying of pesticides in Glen Cove and if spraying is done, it will be from trucks in concentrated areas. The mayor will be given advance notice of any plans to spray.

Earlier this week, Nassau County Executive Thomas Gulotta said that the county would step up mosquito control by expanding spraying in communities. The county will seek to notify residents that spraying will be conducted in their community if and when it is necessary through a combination of methods including flyers, public address systems, local police, fire departments, auxiliary police and news media. A product called Scourge, an organic botanical substance related to the chrysanthemum plant will be used in controlling the mosquito population.

Residents can take these precautions:

Wear protective clothing such as pants, long-sleeved shirts and hats; When outdoors, use mosquito repellent containing the active ingredient DEET and follow directions carefully; Keep pools, pool covers, old tires and rain gutters free of stagnant water; keep yard ornaments such as bird baths empty of water; ensure that screens are in good repair; avoid unnecessary outdoor activity at night, dawn, or dusk. Residents with questions or concerns should call the county health department's mosquito hotline at 571-8707.