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PostPosted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 9:35 pm 
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Please contact your city, county, tell your neighbors and everyone you can to say "No, They Can't" to aerial spraying! I regret some people have suffered and died due to West Nile Virus. It is a sad situation, true, but far greater are the number of people who will suffer from such spraying:

Anyone with breathing difficulties such as asthma, bronchitis, etc., anyone who has an organic garden, anyone who has a certified organic farm, anyone who has a certified natural habitat, and last, but not least, anyone who breathes air...

It has been proven that the mosquitoes will proliferate from such action. This is because more insects that feed on mosquitoes are killed, while most mosquitoes are left unscathed. New York is one place who has learned the hard way that spraying pesticides to kill mosquitoes is NOT the answer.

Contact your city officials and tell them you oppose such action. I live in Carrollton and have been successful at preventing the spray of pesticides (with trucks) within a few blocks radius from my home. Having a Certified Natural Habitat is very inexpensive and is a good, valid, and lawful reason to keep the city from spraying pesticides all over your neighborhood!

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 2:41 am 
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Pardon my ignorance, but what exactly is the city "spraying" in the air?

Also, you mentioned that it's been proven that this kind of approach does not work. Please do elaborate. 

Sorry, but my BS bell starts dinging when someone gets on a forum and says "sorry that people are dying but. . ." Why the "but?" How about you state your case in less fuzzy terms?

Thanks!

Aaron

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 6:38 am 
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The spraying of pesticide for mosquitoes does not seem like a wise thing to do when it:
1) results in an exponential increase in the mosquito population. (The time in which the pesticide is sprayed is not when mosquitoes are active, but the critters which eat mosquitoes are).

2) results in complications of anyone with breathing problems asthma, bronchitis, emphysema...

3) kills insects on which which we rely to pollinate.

to name a few.

Most people who get bit by a mosquito that carries the West Nile virus, do not even have any symptoms. Those that do usually get over it. A few, sadly die, due to weak immune systems.

Precautions can be made to keep mosquitoes at bay. Remove all standing water, keep gutters clean & clear of debris. Treat any standing water with bti.

I, myself, am a mosquito magnet. When I go out at dusk or dawn, I wear long sleeves, long pants, sock and shoes, no matter how hot it is. I also apply essential oils mixed with alcohol or an over-the-counter product to repel mosquitoes (the scent interferes with their ability to identify me as a blood meal).

http://www.meepi.org/wnv/overkillma.htm
http://www.beyondpesticides.org/mosquito/documents/Citizen%20Editor%20Ltrs.htmhttp://thyroid.about.com/library/weekly/aa072600a.htm

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 8:55 am 
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Chick fil-A, you need to pull up a chair, sit down in front of a screen, and start reading at our site. You'll find a robust and rational defense of the position that the spraying is more harmful than helpful.

What Nadine said is correct. Spraying from the air or the street will just kill the beneficial insects that eat mosquitoes. It will harm night-time pollinators, and it could harm bats, who eat a tremendous number of mosquitoes.

Get yourself some mosquito dunks (those round gray things that are sold in garden centers and hardware stores - Home Depot has the best price) and drop them in any source of outdoor water that you can't drain, break them into pieces for smaller water spots you can't easily drain. For a local spray use a mix of a gallon of water with 2 ounces of orange oil and spray it over the bushes or areas the mosquitoes hover just before dusk and take them out before they move out into the yard.

Amended with this remark from Howard's email petition sent out today. If you want a named product, try some of these:
Quote:
Homeowners can spray to kill adult mosquitoes with plant oil pesticides such as Earth Harvest, Avenger and Eco-EXEMPT. Garlic sprays work well to repel the insects for up to 30 days. Even better, broadcast dry minced garlic to the site at 2 - 5 lbs. per 1000 sq. ft. Bonide Mosquito Beater Granules is another good dry product.


I buy a large container of granulated garlic, poke a bunch of holes in the foil cover over the top of the jar, and use it around the yard like a huge salt shaker, sprinkling garlic around the house and areas the dogs inhabit. It does a good job of repelling insects in general.

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PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 1:08 am 
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Please can you tell me, do I have to worry about the drift from the aerial spraying if I live in Lewisville? Do I need to cover my organically grown veggies (Okra, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Peppers) the nights they are spraying to prevent any drift coming my way? I just spent the day cleaning up after last nights rain of any standing water that filled empty buckets by moving the water to my rain barrel and adding Mosquito Dunks. I really don't want to lose the fact that I have been growing my veggies organically for over 20 years.

Please help and tell me if I need to cover my veggies tomorrow 8/16/12 because they are starting aerial spraying then. :cry:

Thanks for your help!


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 6:13 am 
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Cover your gardens with frost cloth and then throw the cloth away. Cover all koi pnds and chicken coops and bee hives.

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PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 6:37 am 
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Here's some more information:

viewtopic.php?f=36&t=21649

http://www.dirtdoctor.com/Mosquito-Spra ... vq1167.htm


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 8:38 am 
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Alas, they will be spraying an area in Fort Worth that basically lines up with the Fairmount neighborhood. In that area around the hospital district in the southwest quadrant of downtown (west of I-35W and south of I-30).

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PostPosted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 4:54 am 
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Unfortunately, they have decided to spray in Carrollton as well.

Covering with frost cloth is a good idea. Keeping an organic program does help to combat most toxic chemicals such as this, although the overall widespread damage will be done.
I have noticed the decline in bees in my yard (I still have quite a few, but not as many as I have in the past), and a noticeable decline in lightning bugs, and dragonflies.

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The Laws of Ecology:
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 1:22 am 
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I have been listening to the low flying planes overhead. :cry: Most critical parts of my yard have been covered with frost cloth and my windows covered in plastic secured by painter's tape. (a very interesting look...)
The time they spray is NOT when mosquitoes are active, but when they are hiding out in a secured area until dusk or dawn. (oddly, they state the pesticide "breaks down" in sunlight and in water). :shock: The time they spray mostly kills the critters that eat mosquitoes.
What I find even more insane is that the second aerial spraying was to get the mosquitoes that were still in larvae form during the first spraying. Yet, in Carrollton, the weather delayed most the spraying until last night. Now they are spraying again tonight. It takes a few days for the larvae to become adult "feeding" mosquitoes... It seems to me more evidence they know not what they do.

* "No, They Can't" is a phrase I borrowed from John Stossel, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stossel
Mr. Stossel reports on things the government claims to do in effort to help people, the economy, etc., and how these things not only have proven to result in the opposite effect, but also costing taxpayers billions of dollars.

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The Laws of Ecology:
"All things are interconnected. Everything goes somewhere. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Nature bats last." --Ernest Callenbach


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 1:31 am 
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perfumfree wrote:
Please can you tell me, do I have to worry about the drift from the aerial spraying if I live in Lewisville? Do I need to cover my organically grown veggies (Okra, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Peppers) the nights they are spraying to prevent any drift coming my way? I just spent the day cleaning up after last nights rain of any standing water that filled empty buckets by moving the water to my rain barrel and adding Mosquito Dunks. I really don't want to lose the fact that I have been growing my veggies organically for over 20 years.

Please help and tell me if I need to cover my veggies tomorrow 8/16/12 because they are starting aerial spraying then. :cry:

Thanks for your help!


I regret my reply is a bit late, but the pesticide drift will surely affect Lewisville. The wind blows. Soil is moved. Everything goes somewhere. Nothing really just "goes away".

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Nadine Bielling
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The Laws of Ecology:
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 23, 2012 11:13 am 
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I live in Lewisville and they will be ground spraying the next few days. They will hit my neighborhood on Friday night. I have chickens and an organic lawn/garden. I cannot afford enough frost cover for the entire lawn, but am going to be looking for some for the chickens and the garden.

How can I detox my lawn once this ground spraying has occurred?


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 23, 2012 4:30 pm 
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Here is the Detox information: http://www.dirtdoctor.com/Detox-Contami ... vq1097.htm

Soil Detox for Contaminated Soil

Digging the soil out and hauling it off is not the answer. That just moves the problem from point A to point B.

If your soil has been contaminated from pesticides or petroleum spills, is contaminated with heavy metals like arsenic and chromium in treated lumber or creosote in railroad ties, or with lead and arsenic from iron supplements, the solution is basically the same.

First, stop the contamination.

Second, apply activated charcoal such as Biogize-SD. It’s very fine-textured and must be mixed with water to apply. Fine textured humates are the next best choice. Zeolite can be applied in a granular form if the budget allows.

The next step is to spray and/or drench the problem area with the Garrett Juice solution plus orange oil or D-Limonene at 2 ounces per gallon of mix. Activated charcoal will tie up the contaminants; Garrett Juice and D-Limonene stimulate the microbes to feed on and breakdown the toxins. Liquid molasses is in the Garrett Juice mix but adding additional molasses to the Garrett Juice mixture will greatly help the decontamination process. Adding the microbe product called THRIVE will speed up the process.


Activated charcoal
Activated charcoal is widely used to decontaminate soils from a host of toxic compounds.

The North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service states in Using Activated Charcoal to Inactivate Agricultural Chemical Spills: “Activated charcoal is the universal adsorbing material for most pesticides.” Many golf courses use activated charcoal just for those unforeseen emergencies when fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, miticides and other disease control products are overused. Many agricultural growers use activated charcoal to decontaminate soils after heavy spraying of pesticides and fungicides, prior to reseeding. And many gardeners and homeowners use charcoal for localized soil contamination.

For more information, go to North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service: https://www.bae.ncsu.edu/programs/exten ... ag442.html


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 1:46 pm 
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Well I spoke at the City of Lewisville City Council meeting to express my 5 minute speech against them spraying with toxic chemicals and to use a pure organic approach. But they heard and voted anyway to have Lewisville Sprayed with Duet on Thurs and Friday 8/30 & 8/31. Here is what was posted on the City of Lewisville Website:

NEW (8-29-2012 12 PM) -- Denton County will conduct aerial spraying both Thursday and Friday night (Aug. 30-31) to reduce the mosquito population. Spraying will be conducted between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. both nights in the entire spray area, including Lewisville. If weather delays the spraying operation, a new schedule will be posted here. Spraying over high school football games and the Labor day Rodeo will be held later in the night to give crowds time to disperse.

The chemical being used is DUET, a two-stage mixture that first stirs up mosquitoes and then kills them by contact. The spray is made up of droplets that are about 30 microns in size. By comparison, a human hair is about 100 microns thick and the average raindrop is about 1000 microns (1 millimeter) in diameter. The spray is colorless and odorless, so people on the ground will neither see nor smell the pesticide. The amount used is 0.8 ounces per acre, roughly equal to two tablespoons in an area the size of a football field.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, DUET is safe and approved for use in populated areas and poses no unusual risk to humans, pets or the environment. In addition, the chemical naturally breaks up into harmless components within five hours of application and does not leave a residue on the ground or other surfaces. As a result, there are no required or recommended precautions for residents living in a spray area. Anyone who will feel more comfortable taking precautions, including those with respiratory conditions or chemical sensitivities, can consider any of the following steps:

Remain indoors during the spraying window, keeping doors and windows closed and circulating internal air only if that option is available.

If skin or clothing is exposed, they can be cleaned with regular soap and water.

Bring pets, pet dishes and toys, and children's toys or clothing indoors during the spraying window; if items are left outside, they can be rinsed with water before use.

Cover fish ponds with a plastic or cloth tarp prior to the spraying window; tarps can be cleaned or disposed of normally afterward.
Cover vegetable or herb gardens with a plastic or cloth tarp prior to the spraying window; tarps can be cleaned or disposed of normally afterward.

Rinse homegrown fruits and vegetables with water prior to eating or cooking if they were left outdoors uncovered during spraying.
Because the chemical breaks down quickly in sunlight and water, no special precautions are suggested for outdoor swimming area. Residents do not need to turn off their sprinkler systems, as it will not affect the pesticide application.

Anyone believing they are experiencing symptoms related to the aerial spraying should call Poison Control at 800.222.1222.
Other points of interest related to the aerial spraying campaign:

The spraying is being conducted by Clarke Aviation, the same company that was used in Dallas County earlier in August. Clarke has a statewide contract with the State Department of Health Services and previously treated coastal areas after Hurricane Ike.
Applications will be made using five small twin-turbine engine aircraft, about the size of a personal jet, flying approximately 300 feet above the ground at 172 miles per hour

Each plane uses on-board real-time meteorological equipment to ensure the spray drift is directed to the target area. This can mean flying as much as two miles away from the target area to allow for drift.

The aircraft will begin flying over the target areas about an hour prior to the start of the spraying window in order to scout the area and look for power lines, towers, etc. If you see an aircraft flying nearby during that time, it does not mean spraying has begun.
It would take 40 spray trucks to cover the same area in the same time as one plane.

You do realize why they were pushing to spray with these Toxic Chemicals is because when they made it a Health Emergency and assigned a Judge to is which instills further FEAR in the public, but it allows the County to access Federal Funds or State Funds from companies that are contracted with the State to spray. These funds CANNOT be used to purchase Organic Products. The City's don't have the funds to pay for this so they opt to access these Federal Funds. Of course they won't tell you this. So it is up to the individual people to purchase these organic products and utilize them to control the mosquitoes so they won't use these toxic chemicals any more.

But then you have the older population that is afraid of dieing anyway because they are feeling closer to their mortality by suffering from underlying health conditions. Of course do these elderly people wear Organic Deet Free Repellants? No!

When I was done speaking at the city's meeting there were some young mothers and their small children play outside by the water fountain. One woman yelled to me that I did a great job! I said thank you for whatever it was worth. I then said to her, "Are your children protected by any bug repellant?" She laughed nervously and said "Uh, No" I said "That is why people are getting infected" and walked off. As I mentioned in my speech: You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink! If people are going to be stupid enough not to protect themselves and rely on the city's spraying to protect them, They are sadly mistaken. It makes me angry how stupid people really are at times and don't take responsibility for their own lives. We live in a society of Co-Dependants! Grrrrr! Well I'm tired of enabling them. Protect yourselves people. Only you can stop forest fires or in this case West Nile.


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 8:47 am 
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Here is the house next door after two days in a row of aerial spraying... As you can see the mosquitoes are just loving it. I sent this picture to Howard too so you might see it elsewhere. The whole front porch was COVERED like this in mosquitoes! Big FAT waste of money they aerial spraying was out here!

I ended up calling the city and the Realtor who is managing the foreclosed house. Somebody lit a fire under whoever had the decision making power and they had a crew out spraying, dumping water out, and now also clearing all the brush outta the backyard. Thank God! That house was probably the primary source of mosquitoes for blocks and block!

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