No, I'm pretty sure that would be the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District (MMCD, http://www.mmcd.org) because I know they are spraying in Minneapolis.I was sitting on my front porch Thursday evening and I heard an unusual-sounding vehicle approaching on the cross street (24th Street S). I looked and saw what appeared to be a City of Minneapolis pick-up truck (I could be wrong, it was at least 100 feet away). In the back of the truck was what sounded like a small gas engine running and a pipe extending straight up 4-5 feet from the bed of the truck, blowing a light colored smoke. A few minutes later I heard & saw the truck again, heading the other direction blowing smoke on 25th Street.
I've never seen this before. Is the city spraying for mosquitoes?
In fact, I'm pretty peeved with them at the moment. They passed my house twice last night after 10pm while we had all the windows open. Not only did the loud noise wake and terrify my son, but I sure as heck don't want my house full of resmethrin and whatever else is in the insecticide they were spraying.
MMCD does publish a schedule of where they will be spraying. However, it appears to be completely inaccurate, since last night's schedule for south Minneapolis said they would be spraying between Penn and Girard Avenues. Girard is many blocks east of Penn. I live west of Penn.
They also say they spray around dusk and dawn when mosquitos are most active. I suppose after 10pm could be stretched to be considered "dusk" at this time of year, but it seems rather late to me to be disturbing the peace.
MMCD says they spray only when weather conditions are right. They do not define what "right" is, but spraying during 10 knot winds like last night doesn't seem too smart.
Lastly, although resmethrin is supposed to be harmless to humans in the amonts they spray, I immediately began feeling woozy and nausea. Initially I was angered because I didn't want my son exposed to the chemicals but getting sick myself was unexpected and less than entertaining.
It might be that the resmethrin is relatively harmless, but usually such insecticides are a combination of chemicals. A commonly used spray for mosquitos, which was used in NYC for example, is a product called Sourge (TM). Sourge is 18% resmethrin, 54% piperonyl butoxide and 28% inert ingredients. Resmethrin kills on contact but mosquitos' bodies quickly break it down, so often they are "knocked down" but recover eventually. In order to make sure more of them die, other chemicals are mixed in to reduce their ability to cope -- which is what the piperonyl butoxide is for.
Compared to piperonyl butoxide, resmethrin is well researched, that is, it is known how it works, and a lot about the various effects it has on a wide variety of the cells and chemical processes in the human and other animal bodies. So it can be said with some certainty that resmethrin is safe to use. The certainty that piperonyl butoxide is safe is a lot lower. The EPA classifies it as a possible human carcinogen.
I do not know that the MMCD is using Sourge. I only use it as an example. Further, the "inert ingredients" in an insecticide are only "inert" with respect to the purpose of killing moquitos or other intended insects. It does not mean they are harmless. Manufacturers often regard their formulations as trade secrets, and so won't even say what the inert ingredients are. However, some of them have been found to be things like xylene, which is itself toxic to humans.
All this to say that while I'm in favor of killing mosquitos, I'm not in favor of poisoning the environment or the people and animals living there. I'm angry that MMCD sprayed my neighborhood without correctly advising that they were about to do so in their web-published schedule. (In their defense, they do hold public meetings at regional offices every business day at 3:15pm to announce where they will be spraying, as well as having a telephone number one can call. I did not check to see if all their source of information agreed with each other.)
Chris Johnson Fulton
TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.)
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