Note statement on bats from Wendy.
Hi All,
I wanted to pass on the below message in black that I got today about the mosquito control program. I was just out before sunset and may need a transfusion from the amount of blood loss. I can’t imagine what it is like for the outside animals!
Although there is no good alternate programs for mosquito control that I know of, I do have some concerns. West Nile is also of some concern so I am torn. A few years ago when we had a bad year I thought that the organic larvicide sounded great. So I got them to try it out on my property. What I noticed though, is that I didn’t have any frogs for about 3 years after that, (just a coincidence? I don’t know). I haven’t used it since and the frogs are back. This is the first time that I have heard of them doing aerial applications of the larvicide, and I only heard about it today.
The Mosquito control guys did an info delegation. I asked about long term studies but they didn’t have much of those details. They were told and convinced that it was safe though and said that they had eaten some to prove the point. I guess I would like to know if the company that created and sells it does the studies, or if it there is an independent long term study. I will try to add that to my long list of reports that I am working on. If anyone ever sees any dead bats, please let me know. The disease looks like a white fungus. As far as I know it has not been seen in B.C. yet.
One unfortunate thing is that many of the mosquito’s natural predators are dying in mass. Over a year ago I heard that there was a disease Killing off millions of bats in the states and that was a new one to scientists. It has since moved to eastern Canada. I talked to an older farmer in PEI that said that there were no more bats there and that a lot of the birds that eat mosquito’s are also gone. When they sprayed for the Pine Beetle I heard that it also killed off many thousands of songbirds, some that would eat the beetles naturally. I have noticed as well a big drop in the birds that used to come to my place. Anyways, there is often a trade off to consider.
For any that want to try other methods of personal insect control check this link;
http://eartheasy.com/live_natpest_control.htm Usually the organic methods are not as potent and need to be applied more often. You could try organic on your skin and Deet for clothing, but of course it is all a personal choice. A friend just told me that she got a rash from the chemical bug spray and so just decided to stay inside for 3 weeks.
I have several deadlines to meet in the next few days before I do more detailed updates. But in brief;
I got a grant for Lake weeding supplies. I have also talked to a few experts in the last 2 weeks about how to go about it to protect lake species, and so will plan another meeting to talk about that and the supplies needed.
Hemlock finally got their updated OCP and bylaws in late May. It took awhile of back and forth to get what the majority of people who wrote or came to the meetings wanted, but worth the extra 2 months to get it worked out. The avalanche study will still go ahead this summer, and I’m sure that more details may have to be worked on after the info is in.
MOT gave permission to stop the train whistle in Lake Errock. They also volunteered to pay for the extra needed signage. So now we have work on a service area and what the insurance costs would be. It will need to go back to the public for another vote. A referendum at election time sounds like the cheapest solution. There will at least be a mail-out before to let people know the details.
That’s it for tonight, although I will have other updates soon.
All the best!
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Topic: Mosquitos! (Read 6380 times)