Aberdeen residents will soon have a chance to let the town’s administration know just how “bugged” they are by the proliferation of mosquitoes.

At Thursday’s regular work session, the Board of Commissioners decided to include a survey in their municipal newsletter asking whether residents would like the town to spray for the pests.

The cost for implementing such a campaign could be expensive, said Town Manager Tony Robertson.

“I was given a figure of $6,500 for a fogging machine and the chemicals would cost $39.85 per gallon,” Robertson said. “And you have to figure you’ll use one to one-and-a-half gallons per house. So, it can get quite expensive.”

Even if the spraying were approved, Robertson said that it would probably be next year before such a program could be implemented.

Commissioner John Hawthorne suggested contracting with the town of Whispering Pines — the only other town in Moore County the commissioners know of that actually sprays for mosquitoes.

Robertson also offered a possible alternative to chemical spraying — birds.

“You might want to look into the cost of building Purple Martin houses,” Robertson said. “Each one of those birds will eat a thousand mosquitoes per day.”