I don’t mean to lessen the seriousness of the West Nile Virus outbreak we are having in Idaho right now, but…
It seems like we could do a lot of damage without a little knowledge, I was listening to the radio on my way to work, someone called in asking, “Why can’t we blanket spray the area along the river to kill all the Mosquitoes.” Others called in asking, “How about putting pesticide into the flowing water to kill the Mosquitoes.”
I listened to the mosquitoes abatement officer patiently explain to people where mosquitoes really breed, (stagnant water), and how often they need to be sprayed to control them.
It was also mentioned that the main breeding grounds were housing areas that over water the grass and have ponds.
I was thinking to myself, “Someone is going to spray the Trico Hatch I just know it!”
Oh but NderdaFilm, once is never enough. it must be done again and again and again and again and again ? We must mold the natural world to comply with our every need. Don’t you know? JGW
Similar situation occurred a few years ago in New York State. I recall lots of well intentioned ideas to save us all by spreading as much mosquito killing aerosol as one could buy. Based upon my cloudy recall of these events cooler heads prevailed and convinced most folks that targeting the breading areas and removing standing water was more effective and less costly then crop dusting Niagara Falls. I think some locals still opted for crop dusting, but it was held in check in some areas. I wonder how many of the people who are calling for the crop dusting approach in your area have standing water on their property in a bird bath, old tire or something like that. Funny thing is I never hear a word about it around here any more. uh oh…Beginning to sound like a rant to me. Maybe I should be on the sound off section :oops: ?
Nerdafilm - Here in Michigan, West Nile is as prevelant as anywhere else. there have been documented deaths and especially a problem with horses. we have three horses on our farm now and they all get West Nile vacinations. Speaking of ponds. I have three 60 gallon horse water troughs and a small ornimental poned (50 feet x 30 feet) and all the troughs and especially the pond have gold fish in them to abate the mesauito problem. The fish work. No mesquitoes and We can sit out in the eveing with out a gallon of DEEt poured over us. Our farm was started in 1840 and history has it the old time farmers caught bluegill in near by ponds and put ehm in their horse troughs to do the same thing as now, eat mesquito larva. It works, it is cheap (a feeder goldfish cost seven cents) and we hope we will be West Nile free. Jonezee
Ignorance is Bliss…The same people would most likely be opposed to prescribed burning of mountain pine beetle killed timber to reduce fuel loading and future forest fire risk. Not to even mention slash and burn cutting to control pine beetle in the first place…Both activities are nessessary evils to protect the green pine forests people want to see. And both fire and pine beetle leave a ugly forest from an adverage persons view.
Now west nile well I can only see the day that there will be workmans comp cases from it in my line of work. I’m in areas so full of mosquitos that I don’t even notice them biting anymore. THey get so thick somedays that you have 20-30 of em biting the back of your hand, deet makes them barely bareable. I actually think they like the stuff the way they still swarm us at work and we go through cans of the stuff a week and buy the most potent stuff we can find.