Aerial spraying to combat a possible grasshopper infestation in Duchesne County could start as early as Wednesday.

“We've had a meeting in Neola, and a meeting in Altamont,” said Troy Cooper, the Utah State University Extension agent for Duchesne County. “If you were unable to attend that meeting and have land that you're considering spraying, we need to know immediately. Call the extension office ... so we can get ready to do some spraying.”

The chemical Cooper plans to use is the growth inhibitor Dimilin, due to the heavy infestation in the county. It stops grasshoppers from shedding their exoskeletons, but does not them immediately.

“The public has to realize that it's a slow-acting chemical,” Cooper said. “They're not going to see dead bugs as soon as that plane goes over.”

Dimilin takes seven to 10 days before it takes effect. It is safe for use around bees, and there are no grazing restriction. But before planes start spraying chemicals from on high, Cooper wants to forewarn the public and encourage them to take some precautions.

“Safety wise, if you see the plane and you've got your kids outside playing, use common sense and say, 'Come in for a little while,'” Cooper said. “Most of the spraying will be (in the) early morning.”

The state Department of Agriculture and Food offers a reimbursement program for grasshopper spraying. Duchesne County has said it will front the cost of the spraying and has committed $10,000.

“What would happen in this case, we would go into our reserves,” Duchesne County Commissioner Kirk Wood said. “So we'd pay the pilot and the spray company. We would submit that bill to the state Department of Agriculture.”

The quoted price for the pilots Cooper plans to use will make the bill approximately $1 per acre for the producer.

“The price we've been dealing with is $5.30 an acre,” Cooper said. “We will have a list of the landowners and the number of acres that was sprayed, and send that to the state.”

Cooper said there is a state contract the county will sign as the entity the state is reimbursing. The state will look at the contract and reimburse the county for 75 percent of the total bill.

“The landowner then is responsible for their 25 percent,” Cooper said. “We will look at that and calculate their 25 percent, make a bill for them, and with the county putting in so much money we'll divide that money out according to the number of acres.

“I'm assuming, they may be paying 20 percent instead of 25 percent,” Cooper said of the possible cost to property owners. “We won't know that figure until the total thing is almost done.”

The program is targeted toward heavily infested areas in Neola and Altamont. Property owners must be in the fly zone to be included in the spraying. Cooper suggested that if a homeowner isn't in the fly zone and is worried about their garden, to use a product labeled for gardens.

“For people that may have one or two acres that have some grasshoppers, we're going to include them – if we can include them – in the fly zone,” he said. “The fly zone will depend on waterways. If they've got a canal running through their one or two acres and you've got to go 150 feet on each side of it, there's not going to be a lot we can do though.”

Anyone who needs to be included in the spray zone, can call the USU Extension office at 435-738-1140 and provide them with their name, address, telephone number, township, range and section, and the number of acres in that section so officials can put them on a flight map.