Spraying on the Greenbrier

Here is an email I just received concerning my question about effects of spraying for black flies on water quality and human health.....

Sadly, I am unable to supply this information, thanks to “trade secrets.” I find this a very frustrating situation—I would VERY much like to know exactly what ingredients are in the product we use! I have been told by a representative of Valent Biosciences, the company that produces VectoBac 12AS (the Bti solution we apply) that the product contains fish oil, soybeans, corn, and ground up bacteria in a water-based medium. Small amounts of other ingredients are the “secret” part, I assume, and I believe their function is to help the product mix and stay suspended. It is a protein derived from the bacterium that is toxic to black fly larvae, due to the particular pH of the black-fly gut.

Please keep in mind that extremely small amounts are applied when the water is low, as it has been much of this summer. For example, we have been applying about 2 tenths of a gallon every half mile in Pocahontas County the past couple of months! This is all that’s needed to achieve the 11 ppm concentration required to kill black fly larvae.