Hello all!
I live in Central Florida and currently rent a house, and recently (2/3 weeks ago) started to grow herbs and vegetables on my patio. This time of year, the county starts to spray for mosquitoes, either by plane or truck. I typically do know beforehand when they'll be spraying, should I be covering up my plants when they're scheduled to spray?
Thanks,
Alex!
Is there any way you can find out just what chemical they are using in their spray, then do a search to see what problems, if any, they can contribute to.
I live in New Orleans and there is a spray program here too with trucks that pass through neighborhoods in the late evenings and nights in my area. They are not frequent, but they do pass by.
Truthfully, I'd be more worried about the problems the mosquitos themselves pose with the different diseases they carry, especially the Zika Virus that looks to be one nasty SOB to contract.
I live in New Orleans and there is a spray program here too with trucks that pass through neighborhoods in the late evenings and nights in my area. They are not frequent, but they do pass by.
Truthfully, I'd be more worried about the problems the mosquitos themselves pose with the different diseases they carry, especially the Zika Virus that looks to be one nasty SOB to contract.
Last edited by gumbo2176 on Tue Feb 28, 2017 6:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
They used to do sprays here but they initially used DDT until it was banned and then malathion. The kids used to like to play in the "fog". The spraying was stopped over concerns of toxicity.
What is being recommended now is to try to keep water from puddling in puddles, saucers,buckets, and tires. Mosquitoes usualy start biting three days after the rain has stopped. Since dengue fever has been found a couple of times, both limited to members of small rural communties, I usually keep DEET by the door before I go out when the mosquitoes are out next to my sunscreen.
Mosquitoes can carry a few nasty diseases so sometimes it is necessary for area wide controls to keep people safe. Usually though, it is best to stay inside when they announce they are spraying a neighborhood.
What is being recommended now is to try to keep water from puddling in puddles, saucers,buckets, and tires. Mosquitoes usualy start biting three days after the rain has stopped. Since dengue fever has been found a couple of times, both limited to members of small rural communties, I usually keep DEET by the door before I go out when the mosquitoes are out next to my sunscreen.
Mosquitoes can carry a few nasty diseases so sometimes it is necessary for area wide controls to keep people safe. Usually though, it is best to stay inside when they announce they are spraying a neighborhood.
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HomewardBound
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I would cover my plants and close my windows, you can't put everything in a plastic bag, including yourself, but every safeguard helps. I use mosquito dunks in my birdbaths, and change the water every couple of days, which is adorable, considering I'm about a quarter of a mile away from a good-sized creek, but you do what you can.
To my mind, pesticide is pesticide, some are worse than others, but all are bad, but sometimes necessary. When I lived in Jersey, we used to be warned when they were going to spray so we could close our windows and take other precautions, then all of a sudden, you stopped being warned, but the air would start to smell like chemicals. The combination of stupid and corrupt there is the ultimate toxicity, but that's another discussion!
To my mind, pesticide is pesticide, some are worse than others, but all are bad, but sometimes necessary. When I lived in Jersey, we used to be warned when they were going to spray so we could close our windows and take other precautions, then all of a sudden, you stopped being warned, but the air would start to smell like chemicals. The combination of stupid and corrupt there is the ultimate toxicity, but that's another discussion!
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ButterflyLady29
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When mosquito borne diseases started showing up here one local city started spraying 2 times a week. Half the city one night, the other half a couple days later. Funny thing was that there were more mosquitoes in the city after a month of spraying than we had outside the city.
When they sprayed our neighborhood it made the mosquitoes so much worse than they were. The bugs turned vicious and even DEET was no deterrent. I doused myself in OFF and still got bit everywhere, including the top of my head! And the spray killed most of our dragonflies and damselflies. Lightning bugs were nearly wiped out and I found several dead Monarch caterpillars. The stuff that was used then was Mosquitomist 1 ULV. Link to the toxicity of the active ingredient: https://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/chlorpgen.html
Then a couple years ago they sprayed without warning and I was outside. I smelled the stuff long before they got to our road but thought it was just a farmer spraying a field. I went inside and took a shower as soon as I heard the truck. I ended up pretty sick with some respiratory issue which hung on for a several days. I missed 2 days of work because I couldn't breathe.
I understand the risk of the various diseases that mosquitoes carry and transmit. And I know that repellents don't always work. I also know that killing everything around isn't the answer to the problem. Mosquito adulticides are not the best or most effective solution. Some larvicides are also toxic to other critters. Do I think there has been adequate research done to combat the problem? Absolutely not. I have seen and heard the advertisements regarding CO2 trapping but I haven't tried one personally. Some of the reviews sound very discouraging. Even so, we live between 2 streams and there is naturally standing water in one or the other year round.
Just a few days ago it was a lovely t-shirt and shorts day. I was wearing pants but no socks and my ankles got ate up. Between my daughter and myself we killed over 2 dozen mosquitoes and they were still swarming us. I spent the next 2 nights awake and scratching. Why is it that mosquito bites itch more when you are trying to sleep?
When they sprayed our neighborhood it made the mosquitoes so much worse than they were. The bugs turned vicious and even DEET was no deterrent. I doused myself in OFF and still got bit everywhere, including the top of my head! And the spray killed most of our dragonflies and damselflies. Lightning bugs were nearly wiped out and I found several dead Monarch caterpillars. The stuff that was used then was Mosquitomist 1 ULV. Link to the toxicity of the active ingredient: https://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/chlorpgen.html
Then a couple years ago they sprayed without warning and I was outside. I smelled the stuff long before they got to our road but thought it was just a farmer spraying a field. I went inside and took a shower as soon as I heard the truck. I ended up pretty sick with some respiratory issue which hung on for a several days. I missed 2 days of work because I couldn't breathe.
I understand the risk of the various diseases that mosquitoes carry and transmit. And I know that repellents don't always work. I also know that killing everything around isn't the answer to the problem. Mosquito adulticides are not the best or most effective solution. Some larvicides are also toxic to other critters. Do I think there has been adequate research done to combat the problem? Absolutely not. I have seen and heard the advertisements regarding CO2 trapping but I haven't tried one personally. Some of the reviews sound very discouraging. Even so, we live between 2 streams and there is naturally standing water in one or the other year round.
Just a few days ago it was a lovely t-shirt and shorts day. I was wearing pants but no socks and my ankles got ate up. Between my daughter and myself we killed over 2 dozen mosquitoes and they were still swarming us. I spent the next 2 nights awake and scratching. Why is it that mosquito bites itch more when you are trying to sleep?
Actually, even with the dengue outbreaks, the only public health advisories were to eliminate standing water to use Deet. I think the only areas they sprayed or inspected were the areas around the outbreaks.
There were two dengue fever outbreaks that I remember. Both were confined to members of the same family and community. The second one was in an area that was a banana patch that had a stream. Most of the efforts at control was aimed at reducing standing water that were in a junk pile near the houses and cutting back some of the overgrown vegetation so the stream could flow better. Dengue is not endemic here. A person had to bring it for the mosquitoes to bite them. They just had to make sure the mosquitoes in the area would not become reservoirs so only the area was sprayed. The thing that limited the outbreak was that the species of mosquitoes we have are not good hosts of the disease and they don't travel far.
Mosquitoes don't usually bite while it is raining or in the middle of the day in the sun. They will be voracious when they hatch about 3 days after the rain stops. Before then, I would have to go out and empty all the places that are pudding and I put a drop of dishsoap in places that I cannot fully empty. A drop of dish soap in the bromeliads works too, either that or water them everyday so there is no standing water. I have a screen in my rainbarrel but I can put bleach in the rain barrel just in case and it helps control the algae. Bleach will dissipate after about a week and I only use the water for ornamentals anyway.
There were two dengue fever outbreaks that I remember. Both were confined to members of the same family and community. The second one was in an area that was a banana patch that had a stream. Most of the efforts at control was aimed at reducing standing water that were in a junk pile near the houses and cutting back some of the overgrown vegetation so the stream could flow better. Dengue is not endemic here. A person had to bring it for the mosquitoes to bite them. They just had to make sure the mosquitoes in the area would not become reservoirs so only the area was sprayed. The thing that limited the outbreak was that the species of mosquitoes we have are not good hosts of the disease and they don't travel far.
Mosquitoes don't usually bite while it is raining or in the middle of the day in the sun. They will be voracious when they hatch about 3 days after the rain stops. Before then, I would have to go out and empty all the places that are pudding and I put a drop of dishsoap in places that I cannot fully empty. A drop of dish soap in the bromeliads works too, either that or water them everyday so there is no standing water. I have a screen in my rainbarrel but I can put bleach in the rain barrel just in case and it helps control the algae. Bleach will dissipate after about a week and I only use the water for ornamentals anyway.
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jeromesmith
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