West Nile Virus Found In Anne Arundel County

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) -- Wiping out West Nile. The state says it's found the disease in some parts of Anne Arundel County.

Gigi Barnett explains it has an aggressive plan to exterminate.

Elaine King spends hours in the garden of her Anne Arundel County home. The insects are plentiful.

"Just a little crickets. A lot of crickets this year," King said.

But the State Department of Agriculture says there are a lot of mosquitoes too, especially in the northern part of Anne Arundel County---and they could possibly carry and pass the West Nile virus.

"We have found evidence of West Nile in the area," said Mike Cantwell, Maryland Department of Agriculture.

Cantwell runs the department's mosquito control unit. He says in the coming weeks, his division plans to wipe out a large portion of mosquitoes in northern Anne Arundel County, but it's the adult mosquitoes Cantwell wants to kill.

"These are the mosquitoes that are very likely to have bitten a bird that has West Nile virus and possibly bite a human and thereby transfer the virus," Cantwell said.

King's garden falls right in the middle of the target area. She's concerned that the spraying might harm her plants but wants the mosquitoes gone.

"If someone gets sick because of a mosquito bite, I feel it needs to be taken care of, spray or whatever the case may be. But then what does the spray do?" she said.

The Department of Agriculture plans to spray its target area twice, once this week and then again next week.

The first spray begins on Wednesday.