DERRY — With West Nile Virus having been found in mosquitoes near Derry, spraying of school and recreational sites has been scheduled for Monday, Aug. 27, from 5 to 10 p.m.

Spraying will take place at the Barka School, Derry Village School, East Derry School, Grinnell School, Gilbert H. Hood Middle School, South Range School, West Running Brook Middle School, Alexander-Carr Park, Don Ball Park, MacGregor Park, Veterans Field, Calvary Bible Church, Pinkerton Academy and the Pinkerton Practice Field.

To accommodate the spraying, Pinkerton rescheduled the freshman girls and boys soccer games from 4:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

“This way, the fields will be vacated by the time spraying begins,” said Pinkerton Academy communications director Chip Underhill. “Our athletic director and security will monitor the fields to make sure no one remains on them when spraying begins.”

Pinkerton Academy pays for the spraying of its fields, although the program is managed through the town, according to Underhill.

The fields should be safe for use the next day, which is the first day of school at Pinkerton Academy, Underhill said.

People may not be present during spraying and the school and recreational fields will be closed from the beginning of spraying until Tuesday, Aug. 28, at 5 a.m.

Although the fields and parks will be sprayed for mosquito control, there are no plans for town-wide spraying.

Dragon Mosquito Control of Brentwood will be conducting the spraying. The insecticides, Anvil 10+10 (sumithrin) and CrossCheck (bifenthrin), will be used to control adult mosquitoes.

Residents may call 734-4144 for further information regarding spray dates, times, locations, insecticides, precautions, West Nile Virus and other concerns.

The mosquito control project begins in Derry on April 9 when crews from Dragon Mosquito Control began checking swamps, marshes, woodland pools, ditches, storm drains and other shallow, stagnant water for mosquito larvae.

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Adam Swift may be reached at aswift@newstote.com.