But people living in southern New Jersey, with the notable exception of Atlantic County, will remain mostly in the dark about mosquito-spraying schedules this year.

Exposure to Scourge, the brand name for the pesticide commonly sprayed from the ground, can cause headaches, dizziness, runny nose and scratchy throat, according to the product label.

Many people close their windows, shut off air-conditioners and bring in children’s toys when they know their neighborhood is going to be sprayed.

“What we learned last year is that there are a lot of people out there who can have an adverse reaction to any chemical, even perfumes,” said Pete Pluchino, director of Bergen County’s division of mosquito control. “We want to avoid that, obviously.”

Other people are concerned that family members with respiratory problems or their children could be harmed by exposure to bug-killing pesticides, he said.

“You know how people are with their children,” Pluchino said.

So every Bergen County resident will be forewarned this year about local spraying efforts through postcards mailed to their homes, as well as through the county Web site and an automated phone line.

The mass mailings will require more money and time to suppress adult mosquito populations. But it’s the best way to reach everyone being sprayed, he said.

“Honestly, if I didn’t have to do any notification, it would make my life a lot easier,” Pluchino said. “But people have a right to know this information.”

Six months ago, the DEP proposed rules that would require counties to provide the public with advance notice of where and when spraying for adult mosquitoes will occur. County mosquito commissions would spread the word through automated telephone lines, the Internet, legal ads, and, if they choose, direct mail.

The DEP could have put the rules into effect by now, but the department apparently has run into some bureaucratic hurdles.

“The rules are still under review,” said Sharon Southard, a DEP spokeswoman.

The rules should become final in the fall, Southard said. Moments later, she retracted the statement, saying the department won’t be held to a deadline.

So, with the arrival of peak season for the mosquito-borne West Nile virus, counties aren’t required to notify anyone of their spraying schedules.

And some mosquito-control plans in southern New Jersey already are in full swing.

The Cape May County Mosquito Control Commission last week aerially sprayed malathion over Green Creek, Eldora and Dennisville, said Judy Hansen, commission superintendent.

It was the second spraying of malathion, a pesticide regarded as more toxic than Scourge. Scourge also has been sprayed this summer, Hansen said.

Notice of the sprayings was provided to local radio stations, but not newspapers, she said. The spraying schedule also was not posted on the county’s Web site, nor was it available though an automated phone line, which won’t be in place until next year, Hansen said.

While no pesticides have been sprayed in Ocean County this summer, notification through the Web and telephone hotline won’t be provided this season, mosquito commission Superintendent Thomas M. Candeletti said.

The Cumberland County mosquito division Web page says spraying schedules will not be published there until DEP rules require it.

“It’s clear that many mosquito commissions will not do more to notify people until they are required to by DEP,” said Jane Nogaki, pesticide program coordinator for the New Jersey Environmental Federation. “Considering the potential for human exposure, there has to be more effort to tell people what is going on. People have a right to know.”

Scientists within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency continue to debate whether malathion is a cancer hazard to humans, she noted. And no one knows what may be the effect of exposure to pesticides in combination with other chemicals in the environment, she said.

“The need for these mosquito-spraying regulations has become critical, and it would have been nice to have them for this mosquito-spraying season,” Nogaki said.

Even without the DEP requirement, northern counties such as Bergen, Monmouth, Passaic and Warren have set up 24-hour hotlines to warn residents about the next day’s pesticide spraying. Bergen, Monmouth and Passaic also post schedules on their Web sites.

In southern New Jersey, Atlantic County is hoping to have a pesticide hotline working in the next few weeks, said Bill Reinert, director of mosquito control.

In the meantime, Reinert notified the public of aerial spraying last week in Galloway Township through news releases, which also were posted on the county Web site.

“It’s good to have that kind of notification,” Reinert said. “We’re responding to public desires.”

Rain last week inundated salt marshes, providing perfect conditions for mosquito breeding, he noted. Those mosquitoes should emerge over the weekend.

It is not clear whether larvaciding efforts this past week were successful, or whether the adult bugs may need to be controlled with some kind of sprayilg, he said.

One thing that is clear, however, it that whether or not your county mosquito officials notify you of the pesticide schedule remains entirely up to them.