A mosquito that cannot hatch is a mosquito that cannot bite. If the parish government is spraying, it means they failed to keep mosquitoes from hatching and thus put us all at risk - either from a mosquito bite or from toxic chemicals.
Tools For Change
Avoid pesticides, Ontario doctors warn
Study by the Ontario College of Family Physicians
Genetic Link May Tie Together Pesticides, ADHD, Gulf War syndrome and Other Disorders
PANNA: Keeping Perspective on West Nile Virus
The Doors of Perception: Why Americans Will Believe Almost Anything
Voters approve mosquito district funding for more spraying
Children, seniors get free DEET
1,200 bats flushed from Slidell gym during basketball game - taken out of state
Sports-loving bats back at Slidell High game - 200 bats killed
Backyard Bat HousesMany residents carry toxic pesticides above "safe" levels
Pesticide Spraying and Health Effects
Worse Living Through Chemistry - Louisiana Governor Recognizes Multiple Chemical Sensitivities
Multiple Chemical SensitivityLouisiana Mosquito Control Association
St. Tammany Parish Codes: Mosquito Abatement District No. 2
State of Emergency Declared by Parish President
West Nile Virus Task Force and Education Campaign Is Established
The Pesticide Label
Healthy Wetlands Devour Mosquitoes
SURPRISE...Contrary to popular belief, healthy, functioning wetlands can actually reduce mosquito populations.
BUT EVERYBODY SAYS...Mosquito control programs commonly recommend that wetlands be drained in order to control mosquitoes. This is because mosquitoes require standing water to breed, and if there is no standing water, there will be no mosquitoes. Quite true. However, mosquitoes have a very short life cycle (from 4 days to a month), and their eggs can remain dormant for more than a year, hatching when flooded with water. Therefore, even after a wetland has been drained, it may still hold enough water after a rain to breed mosquitoes. The drained area may actually produce more mosquitoes than it did when it was a wetland!
Mosquito Control Project on Marshes Wetlands Restoration and Mosquito Control Management of Ponds, Wetlands, and Other Water Reservoirs to Minimize MosquitoesStudy details habitat usage
Urbanization has swallowed up thousands of acres of habitat in St. Tammany and is leading to contamination of waterways, according to a University of New Orleans (UNO) report released by the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation.
Read the report: Urbanization Effects On Habitat Change In St. Tammany Parish, 1982 – 2000 (Report seems to have disappeared along with habitat) Encephalitis Increase Linked to Pesticide Use Impact of naled (Dibrom 14) on the mosquito vectors of eastern equine encephalitis virus from Journal of the Am Mosquito Control Assoc, Dec;13(4):315-25, 1997 What You Need To Know About NALED (Dibrom)Scourge is used in ground spraying
Scourge All products containing resmethrin for mosquito or other pest control at aquatic sites are classified as Restricted Use Pesticides (RUP) by the EPA because resmethrin is toxic to fish. Pesticide Information Profiles on Scourge Piperonyl butoxide, or PBO as it is most often called, is a pesticide synergist. A synergist is another chemical that is added to a pesticide product, in addition to the active and inert ingredients, to increase the potency of the active ingredient. While the increased potency make the pesticides more deadly to their targets, synergists may also compromise the detoxifying mechanisms of non-target species, including humans. Cancer Prevention Coalition: Scourge - Resmethin Public health is seriously threatened by Scourge. The label of Scourge warns that inhalation is the greatest hazard for humans. "AVOID BREATHING, VAPOR OR SPRAY MIST." Unpublished data by the manufacturer reveal that Resmethrin is cancer-causing, with specific risk of liver and thyroid cancers. Unless homes are air-tight and windows are closed at the time of spraying, all residents living in the vicinity of Scourge applications are at risk from inhalation. Scourge May Cause Harm to ThyroidStop the "Pesticide Conspiracy"!
Members of the incredibly lucrative pesticide industry, their cronies in the United States Department of Agriculture, their bought-and-paid-for entomologists and toxicologists, and the men and women — at the bottom of the insecticide pyramid - who make their living promoting the broadcast use of pesticides . . . none of these people liked Dr. Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring, one bit. It is likely that they will be even more disturbed by what Robert van den Bosch has to say here and in his book, The Pesticide Conspiracy . . . because Van exposes the fact — long known to insiders in the pest control business — that the indiscriminate use of such chemical insecticides is a disaster for all but those who sell and promote them.
3/28/05 - So when you hear the district trucks coming down your street or their planes flying overhead dispensing their mosquito killing spray you have, according to the district, nothing to fear. Read more 11/10/04 - There's no break from mosquito season in St. Tammany Parish, said Palmisano. The agency budgeted $4.1 million this year alone to combat mosquitos and West Nile in St. Tammany.Throughout the year, Palmisano and Taylor said any number of the agency's 17 trucks drive through neighborhoods weekly, spraying the people-safe pesticide, Scurge (Scourge), to kill mosquitos. When needed, two planes also drop a heavier pesticide that won't blow away. Read more
3/2/04 - The district will soon begin to spray "ultra low volumes" of pesticides on the ground and in the air to target adult mosquitos. All materials used by the district are approved and labeled by the Environmental Protection Agency. The district reports that the chemicals it uses do not pose any threat to humans or animals when used according to labeled directions. Read more 4/22/02 - When used correctly, a good percentage of the pesticides used are biologically derived and EPA approved with no threat to humans or wildlife, (Vicki) Taylor said."We've run tests on every type of mosquito product out there, even garlic, but they just aren't as effective," she said. "This poses no threat to humans or wildlife." Read more
6/28/01 - St. Tammany Mosquito Abatement District's spraying records indicate that in 2000, 48 applications of naled were made at concentrations of 0.07 pounds per acre. The safety of these higher levels of application have not been examined by the EPA. Naled is a pesticide which interferes with the activities of an enzyme that is essential for proper working of the nervous systems of both humans and insects. Potential harmful effects to wildlife have been documented in a number of studies. These include moderate to high toxicity in ducks and geese, and toxicity to most types of aquatic lifes such as bluegill and the aptly-named mosquito fish, which feeds on mosquito larvae. An additional environmental hazard indicated by EPA for naled is that runoff from treated areas may be hazardous to aquatic organisms in neighboring areas. Read more 6/25/01 - The material in question is naled, and according to Director of Mosquito Abatement Chuck Palmisano, naled has been used by local mosquito abatement agencies for the past 30 years. "We have documentation from the EPA concluding this substance to be safe," said Palmisano. Read more 3/20/97 - For now the best defense is pesticides. The one used by the abatement district is Resmethmrin. It is a synthetic pyrethroid, which is a man-made derivative of a naturally occurring plant defense. "We wouldn't advise anybody to come into direct contact with it," Palmisano said. "But the health risk is extremely minimal. Casual contact is no problem." Read more For starters: You can ask St. Tammany Parish Mosquito Control for a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and Label on the chemical product being used for ground and aerial spraying. You can insist that MSDS and Labels on the chemical products used be placed on its website. You can request to be notified in advance of spraying so you can protect yourself from direct exposure or so you can leave the area to be sprayed. You can insist that a schedule for spraying be placed on its website; advance notice be placed in local newspapers and on public and cable TV; and a Reverse 911 System be used for pre-notification of pesticide spraying. You can request to opt-out of the spraying program. You can insist an opt-out form be placed on its website, such as the one by the City of Winnipeg. Next: You can insist your public officials examine and explain why less toxic means of pest control are not being employed. Contact Parish President Kevin Davis and/or your local council member. You can request an ordinance to not spray pesticides for mosquitoes and/or West Nile virus be adopted similar to the one adopted by Lyndhurst, Ohio Last resort: You can remember your elected official next time you are in the voting booth. Further: You can ask the news media and reporters to discontinue misinforming the public by merely turning press releases from mosquito control (in some cases, merely a front for the chemical industry) into front page stories. You can ask reporters to educate themselves on "all" the issues pertaining to mosquito control and to report their findings accordingly, especially rising asthma, allergies and cancer rates in the community. Get Involved You can speak out on these important issues by writing a Letter to the Editor.1301 Howze Beach Road, Slidell, LA 70458-8503, Phone/Fax 985 649-6574