Editor: Is mosquito control by spraying malathion safe, efficient, and effective? Although malathion is one of the lesser toxic substances used, it is suspected of causing some species of the swallow-tail to become endangered. In fact, this website wasn't reassuring. However, it did have a link to alternatives for mosquito spraying: http://www.chem-tox.com/malathion/research.
Disease carrying mosquitoes: Aedes Albopictus and Aedes Aegypti breed in stagnant water. The salt marsh mosquito doesn't harbor encephalitis. The effectiveness of spraying for mosquitoes is not as successful as other non-poisonous methods.
The pest control companies themselves admit that mosquito spraying isn't the most efficient procedure; and, they report that 97% of the mosquito complaints they receive are from people who have not lived in Florida for more than one year.
The CDC has established specific guidelines for preventing mosquito bites: avoid being outside at dusk, wear long sleeves or protective clothing, use products containing deet which prevent mosquito bites, make sure screened-in areas are intact, and the number one method is to make sure there is no standing water in your yard. Drain wading pools, bird baths, wheelbarrows, garbage cans and lids, empty plant containers and any areas where water collects and remains for more than a week. Before we say absolutely "yes" or "no" to malathion spraying let's review the cost and ask ourselves if we are getting the most out of our dollars. It may be prudent to spray near our tourist congregations so as to increase their security and peace of mind. In brevity I wasn't able to locate any clinical reports on the effects of malathion on Tridacnas or clams.
Integrated pest management is the solution. Remember, frogs, spiders, and birds among many other species eat mosquitoes, too. Although malathion, according to the EPA, "poses no unreasonable risk" to humans and mammalians, wiping out all the other species is certainly undesirable.
There are no more frogs in my parents' suburban neighborhood in Sarasota. In the Keys, when walking through broad leaf hammocks, there isn't a spider web to be found. "The Frog Capital of the World," Raine, LA has not frog one, due to pesticides. These are signs of imbalance to say the least. Let's not add Cedar Key to this list. Patricia Kromer |
