West Nile Virus

West nile virus is a greatly overblown problem. The spraying of toxic chemicals to attempt to control mosquitoes is much more dangerous than the rare disease. There is also evidence that the spraying makes the mosquito problem worse by killing beneficial insects like dragonflies, the larvae of which feed on and control mosquito larvae in water.

Spraying or fogging for mosquitoes is still being done in some cities for public relations but more and more cities such as Fort Worth are opting to forgo the toxic spraying and use better techniques.

 Synthetic pyrethroids like Scourge (resmethrin) are neurotoxins and particularly hard on people with asthma and other allergies. These chemicals have been responsible for creating insect pest immunity and even “super pests” in the some cases. In addition, these products now contain piperonyl butoxide (PBO), a synthetic synergist that interferes with the insect’s system of neutralizing toxins. It makes the pesticide more effective at killing the targeted pest, but that override of the body’s detox system is also the concern for birds, pets and humans. Manufacturers admit that liver tumor increases in test animals has been significant, but of course, they say that it shouldn’t be a problem for humans.

The real control of mosquitoes results from treating stagnant water with Bti products, horticultural oils or gambusia fish and wearing non-toxic herbal repellents like Cactus Juice, LiceBGone, Cedar-Cide, vanilla and water and cat nip products. Spraying liquid  Bti products also seems to work. DEET is not recommended because of its toxicity. Note the warning on the labels about use on children.

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