Discussions

I used to be all for spraying malathion. I used to live in Winnipeg and I couldnt stand the pompus attitudes of those so called "tree huggers" in Wolsely!  
 
But after experiencing the effects of being close to a fogger, my mind has changed. I do not want anyone to contract WNV, and for anyone to suggest that the anti-foggers do not care about WNV, they are way off base.  
 
I was wracking my brain these past couple of weeks, and I was also educating myself on the pro and con of fogging.  
 
Why is it, I asked myself, do we fog when even the learned gentlemen at the pest conrol center themselves have stated that they are unsure as to the effectiveness of fogging Malathion. Why are we spraying more poisons into our air?  
 
Even the Pest Management Regulatory Agency in Ottawa, states in their literature that...quote "Based on the recent re-evaluation of malathion,  
it is not expected that people will experience any symptoms when malathion is sprayed for adult mosquito control.  
If the precautions to minimize exposure  
mentioned above are taken, it is even less likely that you would be overexposed to malathion. However, if for some unforseen reason you have been overexposed to malathion, these are the  
symptoms to look for:  
• nausea, dizziness, confusion, headaches,  
weakness, diarrhea  
• eye, skin, nose or throat irritation  
• breathing problems"...  
 
Is this not contradictory statements in the same paragraph?  
 
As well in their Literature.....QUOTE "Malathion is highly toxic to insects, including beneficial ones such as honeybees. Because  
adult mosquito programs are typically carried out at night or early morning, the impact on honeybees is minimal since this is when they are least active.  
Malathion is also highly toxic to fish and aquatic insects. To minimize exposure to aquatic organisms, care should be taken to avoid overspray or drift to aquatic environments like sloughs, ponds, prairie potholes, lakes, rivers,  
streams and wetlands when applying malathion or when cleaning and rinsing spray equipment or containers.  
 
Again, from a goverment regulated body they are contractictory.  
 
I then tried to find studies which supported the theory that malathion was successful in its applications and looked for supporting documentation that even if integrated with other mosquito control programs it was a successful eliminator of pests (mosquitos). I have not found any such recent studies.  
 
In an interview with the CBC...Quote "Retired entomologist Bill Turnock questions the effectiveness of the city's fogging program. He says officials want to show they're doing something to kill mosquitoes, but fogging with malathion isn't the best way.  
"To be effective, the fog droplets have to actually hit an insect," he says. "The delivery systems that we have and the terrain that they're fogging [make] it extremely difficult to get the kind of coverage you need to kill a high percentage of mosquitoes."  
 
 
I came across this and said to myself....WOW, if we are doing all of this spraying, what kind of long term damage are we doing here? Arent there any alternatives? And FullMealDeal, you will appreciate this. In a post you said "I vote to FOG! All these naysayers got a better idea than spraying? Would love to hear it.  
 
West nile is getting more and more common every year with more people getting infected yearly. The problem is only going to get worse!  
 
So let's hear your big ideas for a fast control of the issue at hand?  
 
I say spray away, i smoke as well! Malathion is the least of my worries.....  
 
If they birds etc are destroyed show me the dead birds etc, wait a min there is none!"  
 
....Well I think that you will appreciate what this man has to say, and I do hope that alot of people who are pro and anti fogging read this. I think that this is the answer. So basic! But the answers usually are arent they.  
 
Can we have a discussion that will not lead to name calling or labeling those on eigher side of the fence? I hope so.