In this era of serious community concern about mosquito-transmitted diseases like Zika and West Nile Virus, human health risks add fuel to our urge to rely on “authorities” (companies, local government) to deal with bugs for us by spraying chemicals. Chemicals are only part of the process. The healthiest option all around is empowering ourselves, our families and our neighborly relationships to deploy some biology basics – and join forces for community pest control. The fact is that street or yard “fogging” will kill any kind of bug the chemical contacts: monarchs, dragonflies, bumblebees, etc. As a way to control the blood-suckers, fogging misses a big mark. It only kills flying adults that happen to be in the sprayed range and does not stop the cycle of mosquito breeding! Mosquitoes reproduce in standing water. So while beneficial bugs on the wing are dropping like flies, whole new generations of vigorous mosquitoes will continue wiggling through their larval days in bucket lids, toys left out in the yard, untended bird baths, trash (from discarded cans to old tires), clogged gutters, pool covers or anything else that will hold the same water for the five days (less time when it’s really hot) needed for mosquito eggs to reach biting maturity.
Brightside, the City of St. Louis “cleaning and greening” group, has a new brochure detailing mosquito issues and pollinator-friendly controls. If your property has low spots, or if you know that water is pooling in spots you can’t reach (like corrugated drain pipes), you can toss in some bits of Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bti. This is a soil-dwelling bacterium that works as a biological larvicide. Added to standing water, it prevents mosquito larvae from developing, without harming birds, aquatic life or pets. Bti is sold in hardware and home improvement stores as compressed cakes, called Mosquito Dunks; some garden centers offer Bti in particles, called Mosquito Bits. Many city and town planners also understand and support the importance of beneficial insects, especially pollinators. Local governments may let property owners opt out of treatment along their fogging routes. If you do opt out, you still hear the sound of the truck going by, but the driver will turn off the chemical flow.
Contacts for public health agencies:
Mosquitoes are not “bad.” They are just bugs – and they are an important part of the food chain for dragonflies, bats, birds, fish, frogs – and even some mosquitoes that eat the larvae of other mosquitoes! Out of over 3500 species of mosquitoes living worldwide today, less than 10 species in three genera (Aedes, Anopheles, Culex) carry diseases of concern to humans.
Couldn’t we do without mosquitoes? Human knowledge of ecology is evolving. We can’t predict all the possible effects of eliminating a species. It’s not smart to take a cog out of Nature’s wheel. Instead of taking nature apart, let’s take responsibility to protect the health of pollinators, people, and the natural world overall.
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