Massive Nationwide Aerial Sprayings of Toxic Pesticides Underway!!

[Bubbles]

http://www.ncdsupport.com/in-the-new...lar+Defense%29

[JClark]

It's a shame that you need a graduate education to see through sham journalism. Even the title is wrong--this is localized to parts of TX where folks are dying from a mosquito borne disease, not nationwide. They suggest the "government" is hiding details yet they know what chemicals are being used. A google search will yield all the toxicity data and safety studies completed to date (which are required before getting EPA registration). The funny thing is I bet these folks, who are suggesting government has an evil intent, also vote for the big government agenda of the current administration.

The folks at the bar should be much more worried about the health effects of the alcohol and cigarettes (assuming some were smoking) they are consuming. I'd go inside if I saw the plane. Also, that pic is of crop dusting, not an arial spray for mosquitoes--which should occur at night when the mosquitoes are active. If done at night there is very little risk of bee injury as they have to actively contact the suspended droplets (i.e. be flying through the plume). Once the chemical settles it is quickly inactivated by organic compounds and UV light (which is why these chemicals are chosen for this type of application--to minimize non-target damage). Of course, if you put these chemicals in a jar with a non-target it is obviously bad. The mitigation is in the correct following of label instructions. This is why it is against the law to use products in a manner not in accordance with label instructions.

By the way, all this being said, ultra low volume fogging IS the least effective way of controlling mosquito populations and, for a disease like WNV w/ a lot of host reserviors and vectors, reactive control is difficult to impossible to begin with.

Off my soap box now.

[waynesgarden]

Not "massive" enough to bring spray planes to Maine. Last I checked, we were still part of the Nation.

Wayne

[Bubbles]

To JClark, Thank you for the correction. Question: if this is the least effective way of treating, why do you think they would prefer to use it?

[JClark]

My guess is it's not a preference but a last resort type thing. At this stage there is not much else you can do but let the cycle run it's course. Spraying just gives the image that they are trying to do something to mitigate the risk. If done correctly (and applied in the right areas) this type of spraying can reduce adult #s. I've used it successfully in Iraq but I always made sure soldiers stayed "inside" during the application phase and I always did recon--like standing out the night before to find out what times the target mosquito actively bit--so I had the highest chance of actually hitting the target. Hopefully they are doing surveillance so they know it they are having an impact.

If you are in that area and want to protect yourself simply wear repellent on exposed skin or do not expose skin and use a head net (or wear a bee suit!). Or simply stay inside a place w/ screened windows and doors. Hopefully they are getting this message out too as it may be more successful than spraying in terms of preventing cases.

[TokerM]

Pacify the population, it's the cheapest amount spent for the maximum level of appeasement. It also has the fastest results. People see the spray, mosquitoes go away for a couple days, people say "That worked! Spray more!"

It's just like in the old mid evil days of castle sieges. If there was an invading force, you gathered up all the gold, silver, gems and what not and loaded it in the catapults. Fire that at the enemy until they go away when winter comes.

[JClark]

That is definitely part of the equation.

I had a general once demanding that I spray his quarters because he was getting eaten up by mosquitoes but my surveillance suggested nothing was there. Eventually, to shut him up, I sprayed his quarters with water. He swore up and down that whatever I did worked. Never told him it was water, of course.