This Is What I Also Found At Sanibel Island In Florida Over 20 Years Ago
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This Is What I Also Found At Sanibel Island In Florida Over 20 Years Ago
Date:
Thu, 8 Aug 2002 08:18:39 -400
From:
Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State of California, Department of Pesticide
Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
From: RACHEL's Environment and Health Weekly #710 - West Nile Virus -- Part 2, October 26, 2000 by Rachel Massey*
Experiences with another mosquito-borne virus, eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), indicate that pesticide sprays do not necessarily achieve the desired effect. For example, a 1997 study looked at trends in populations of CULISETA MELANURA, the mosquito primarily responsible for transmitting EEE among birds.
Over a period of eleven years, Cicero Swamp in central New York state was sprayed fifteen times with one insecticide and once with another. Instead of declining, the population of CS. MELANURA grew fifteen-fold during this period. The study suggests that the pesticides may have altered the ecological balance of the swamp, killing organisms whose presence would ordinarily help limit the CS. MELANURA population.[2] In general, spraying can kill fish and other natural mosquito predators, and repeated spraying can produce pesticide-resistant mosquitoes.[3]
Pesticides meant to kill flying insects are often applied as an ultra-low volume (ULV) spray. ULV spray equipment creates tiny pesticide droplets that can remain aloft for long periods and, due to their light weight, readily drift away from the target area. Scientists have estimated that less than 0.0001% of ULV pesticide sprays actually reach the target insects.[4,pgs.18,22] So for every droplet that reaches a mosquito, hundreds of thousands more droplets circulate pointlessly in the environment.
Effective mosquito control uses knowledge of mosquito ecology to minimize opportunities for human exposure. One important tactic is reducing mosquito breeding habitats. MORE AT: http://www.rachel.org/bulletin/index.cfm?issue_ID=1891
See the Mosquito Chapter at: http://www.thebestcontrol.com
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