Targeting what it refers to as "extremely high nuisance adult mosquito populations", the state Department of Environmental Protection will be spraying in Pittsfield and Pine Grove townships next week.

The spraying, done in conjunction with the Warren County Conservation District's West Nile virus program, is scheduled for Monday evening, Aug. 10.

The treatments will be administered with truck-mounted equipment to spray ultra-low volume applications in residential and recreational areas to control adult mosquito populations. The DEP said it will spray Biomist 3 + 15, a permethrin insecticide product, at a rate of 0.75 ounces per acre.

The DEP said there have been no confirmed human cases of West Nile virus in the state this year. Certain mosquito species carry the West Nile virus, which, when transmitted to people, can cause West Nile encephalitis, an infection that can result in an inflammation of the brain, according to the DEP.

The DEP said homeowners can help eliminate mosquito-breeding areas by:

throwing away tin cans, plastic containers, ceramic pots or similar water-holding containers that have accumulated on the property;

paying special attention to discarded tires, which can hold stagnant water;

maintaining drainage holes that are located on the sides of gardening containers that might allow enough water to collect for mosquitoes to develop;

cleaning clogged roof gutters as needed;

turning over plastic wading pools, wheelbarrows and birdbaths when not in use;

aerating ornamental pools or stock them with fish;

cleaning and chlorinating swimming pools that are not being used;

and using landscaping to eliminate standing water that can collect on the homeowner's property.