Losers in the skeeter wars
Posted on Wednesday, August 25th, 2010
By Roger
Monarch butterflies were among the most visible casualties of the spraying in Grand Forks, ND. (Images courtesy of Wikipedia.)
An article in North Dakota’s Grand Forks Herald reports that residents woke last Thursday morning to a ” jarring spectacle of dying butterflies and dragonflies on the sidewalks.” The die-off, including thousands of monarch butterflies, was brought about by routine seasonal spraying to control mosquitoes.
An editorial points out, “mosquitoes are tiny and don’t show up to the naked eye.” Perhaps that’s why the populace has tolerated the practice for the past 30 or 40 years. The paper’s editorial goes on to say that the tradeoff is one that people are willing to take, given the desire for mosquito-free summers.
But this article, and presumably those responsible for spraying, ignores long-term consequences of the spraying. The chemicals used are supposedly “ safe for people and pets.” But can we be sure of how the chemicals move through the environment? What are the long-term effects on biodiversity? We do know that untold numbers of other insects are also “casualities of the skeeter war” as the newspaper puts it. And remember, when dragonflies and butterflies die off, their predators (birds, frogs, reptiles) either go hungry or are themselves poisoned. So let’s encourage officials to see the bigger picture. They must avoid quick fixes that do more harm than good in the long run.
That’s not to say I am a fan of mosquitoes. I’ve had malaria seven times and almost died on one occasion. But malaria is not a problem in Grand Forks. Mostly, it seems, the justification is so that people aren’t irritated by mosquitoes while outside quaffing a beer and munching on a hotdog. But isn’t a mass die-off of other insects and invertebrates a high price to pay for the minor inconvenience of swatting a few mosquitoes?
Moreover, Grand Forks officials are ignoring alternatives to spraying to control mosquitoes. Of course, spraying is an easy fix. Officials can say they’ve done their job. But numerous alternatives exist. Release of sterile males could be a successful strategy. Trapping females is another. (Only female mosquitoes need to feed on blood.) One possibility is educating the public to avoid leaving standing water where mosquitos breed would help reduce populations without the unpleasant side-effects. But none of these approaches has the instant gratification of spraying. In any case such imaginative leaps might be asking a bit too much of Grand Forks city officials.
– Roger Harris
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