PSA: DO NOT SPRAY YOUR YARD WITH PESTICIDES TO COMBAT MOSQUITOS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Start with long sleeved (lightweight) shirts and pants.

Hoodies work great, too.

And you know what works BEST for mosquitos? FANS. If you have a small area, buy a big ol' fan for your porch/patio. That's going to be your best bet at keeping the bugs away, at least in a small area.

Great idea, in theory. But my three Year old walks 25 yards from garage to house and winds up with two skeeters attached to her face. I'm not going to cover het up four times a day for that walk. This happened twice this summer, and our neighbors 12 year old has west Nile. We're continuing to spray.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PLEASE, please do not spray your yard, or pressure the local government to spray your areas for mosquitos. There are links to cancer, asthma, ADD, Autism from pesticide use. Pesticides get in our water supply, our food, animals and environment. They don't just stay in one place. You don't not want your kids playing in pesticides. Just use OFF on yourself and your kids and it washes off at the end of the day.
Wear light colored clothing, avoid going out at dusk and wear long sleeved shirts and pants.

agree. and don't go out at dusk. many extermination companies like to come out in the dusk time for quotes as the mosquitos are all over the place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to remember but can't - when does mosquito season end?

Usually after it cools considerably at night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really have not noticed many mosquitos this year. Honestly. This is in Northern VA. . .so, I don't know where people have a ton of them? (?)

we are in Arlington and noticed earlier this summer that we didn't have many -- now it is really, really bad. my son was out in the yard the other night and got more than 20 bites in just a few minutes, and that was with some (poorly applied) OFF.

Another Arlington resident here. I went outside to light our grill and in a minute got 3 bites in less than a minute. This was while I was on our deck (normally the safe zone). June and July weren't bad - it was like they were all waiting, planning and watching. And its the nasty tiger ones (I swear the bites are itchier).

Sadly, what i do is avoid going out -or we go to the pool (does chlorine keep them away or something - or maybe it masks the human smell).

I'm not worried about West Nile, just trying to keep myself from getting eaten alive. Luckily my son isn't as much of a magnet as I am.

[Anonymous]

the problem in our area is that we have tiger mosquitoes that are very aggressive during the day, evening and night. they are the worst.

[Anonymous]

Please do spray.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First of all, OP is correct that the pesticides used in spraying (by companies like MS) have been linked to infertility, learning and developmental delays, and autism. There is a reason those issues are on the rise in the U.S.

Impact of Prenatal Exposure to Piperonyl Butoxide and Permethrin on 36-Month Neurodevelopment: http://www.citeulike.org/user/alexhakkinen/article/10158369

I can't get your link to work, but mosquitoes haven't just "been linked" to malaria, west nile, and other deadly diseases, they have been proven to spread those diseases. Spray spray spray.

[Anonymous]

What do you guys think we'll do when the sprays kill all the remaining bees?

What will you eat?

Frankenfood?

What will your children's children eat when you've completely poisoned the world you're leaving them?

Thanks for the toxic world, grandma.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First of all, OP is correct that the pesticides used in spraying (by companies like MS) have been linked to infertility, learning and developmental delays, and autism. There is a reason those issues are on the rise in the U.S.

Impact of Prenatal Exposure to Piperonyl Butoxide and Permethrin on 36-Month Neurodevelopment: http://www.citeulike.org/user/alexhakkinen/article/10158369

Second, the reason kids are reacting so strongly to mosquito bites is twofold:

1. Other chemicals (yep, more toxic chemicals!) like triclosan (a common antibacterial agent) are in EVERYTHING nowadays (toothpaste, soap, deodorant, hand sanitizer, impregnated into clothing, etc). Triclosan has been shown to increase the risk of developing allergies (as well as other scary effects like weakening heart muscles and lowering resistance to hormone disruptors like BPA). I'll bet your kids have significant exposure, like pretty much all Americans.
2. Less exposure to mosquito bites increases the risk that the immune system will categorize bites as a threat and cause a big histaminergic/inflammatory response.

P.S. I have a degree in Chem, and it disgusts me that the FDA and EPA allow so many chemicals to be used in our country without strict safety testing. This policy of "safe until proven dangerous" is what's to blame for the rise in MANY illnesses and disorders.

f

Would you mind running for Congress? Seriously. I think it's a shame how few scientists are serving.

[Anonymous]

pp here. You can also eat less sugar, increase b vitamins, and use lavender (soap and add some a drop of oil to laundry) to help keep mosquitoes at bay. I also spray vinegar around my yard before a party.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, OP is correct that the pesticides used in spraying (by companies like MS) have been linked to infertility, learning and developmental delays, and autism. There is a reason those issues are on the rise in the U.S.

Impact of Prenatal Exposure to Piperonyl Butoxide and Permethrin on 36-Month Neurodevelopment: http://www.citeulike.org/user/alexhakkinen/article/10158369

Second, the reason kids are reacting so strongly to mosquito bites is twofold:

1. Other chemicals (yep, more toxic chemicals!) like triclosan (a common antibacterial agent) are in EVERYTHING nowadays (toothpaste, soap, deodorant, hand sanitizer, impregnated into clothing, etc). Triclosan has been shown to increase the risk of developing allergies (as well as other scary effects like weakening heart muscles and lowering resistance to hormone disruptors like BPA). I'll bet your kids have significant exposure, like pretty much all Americans.
2. Less exposure to mosquito bites increases the risk that the immune system will categorize bites as a threat and cause a big histaminergic/inflammatory response.

P.S. I have a degree in Chem, and it disgusts me that the FDA and EPA allow so many chemicals to be used in our country without strict safety testing. This policy of "safe until proven dangerous" is what's to blame for the rise in MANY illnesses and disorders.

f

Would you mind running for Congress? Seriously. I think it's a shame how few scientists are serving.

She has a degree in chem, she's not a scientist. Triclosan is just the cause of the day. It may have negative effects but come on, it's not causing kids' mosquito bites to get worse so let's not roll up every chemical concern into one big thing. There was one study of triclosan that found a mild increase in hay fever rates for non-adults. But your child is more at risk simply by being male than by using triclosan and how can you make the jump to mosquitoes based on one data sample on hay fever??? Meanwhile triclosan reduces gum disease which affects not only teeth but heart health. No I'm not a paid shill for the triclosan-industrial-complex, but come on! Two years ago she would have written about phtalates and four years ago BPA. Not everything causes everything.

Our families doused us in OFF and we lived.

[Anonymous]

What do you all think of the "natural" products, like badger anti-bug balm made with:

Active Ingredients: 10% *Ricinus Communis (Castor) Oil, and Essential Oils of 5% *Cymbopogon Nardus (Citronella), 2% *Cedrus Atlantica (Cedar), 2% *Cymbopogon Schoenanthus (Lemongrass), 1% *Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary), & 1% *Pelargonium Graveolens (Geranium).

Inactive Ingredients: *Olea Europaea (Extra Virgin Olive) Oil, and *Cera Alba (Beeswax).

I am aware that just cause a chemical occurs naturally doesn't mean it's safe, but I'm unaware of negative repercussions of any of these ingredients. It works fairly well on my dd, but needs to be reapplied frequently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you all think of the "natural" products, like badger anti-bug balm made with:

Active Ingredients: 10% *Ricinus Communis (Castor) Oil, and Essential Oils of 5% *Cymbopogon Nardus (Citronella), 2% *Cedrus Atlantica (Cedar), 2% *Cymbopogon Schoenanthus (Lemongrass), 1% *Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary), & 1% *Pelargonium Graveolens (Geranium).

Inactive Ingredients: *Olea Europaea (Extra Virgin Olive) Oil, and *Cera Alba (Beeswax).

I am aware that just cause a chemical occurs naturally doesn't mean it's safe, but I'm unaware of negative repercussions of any of these ingredients. It works fairly well on my dd, but needs to be reapplied frequently.

And this is exactly why "organic" is not all that it is cracked up to be. In fact, you are better off buying conventional produce where we know what is used and what impact it has rather than organic where studies have not been conducted. Off topic but still relevant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I much prefer having my yard sprayed to coating everyone with OFF. I've made the best decision for my family and don't care whether you agree or not.

I can't believe you're totally comfortable increasing everyone's chances of all that OP listed just so you're comfy. So incredibly selfish.

Those who live in areas where you can, is your yard friendly to bats and birds? I'm pretty sure fogging your yard screws with their systems, which is funny considering a single bat can eat 1000 skeeters an hour. Do you have standing water on your property? And I mean any: a mosquito can lay eggs in the lid to a coke bottle.

It doesn't matter that my property has absolutely no place for a mosquito to breed. They can fly 1-2 miles in search of a victim. That 'bottle cap' you're talking about need only be within that range and I have mosquitos. Given the number of sprinkler systems in a 1-2 mile radius from my house and all the possible breeding places, it's no wonder we have the problem we do. And, our yard is friendly to bats and birds. We have a 'certified wildlife habitat'. We even have a bat house but as we've learned from experts, it's not easy to entice bats. You've got a 50/50 chance of getting them into a bat house you install within the first two years. After that, the odds decrease even more. Bat guano also presents dangers. But say I do have bats in addition to the birds we've got. They don't do much for those Asian Tiger mosquitos that are biting us all day. I grew up knowing mosquitos were active from dusk to dawn. Now they're active 24 hrs/day.

I'm real comfortable with our decision to have the yard sprayed, real comfortable Especially when we can play outside without the hordes attacking us.