West Nile Epidemic in Ada County, Idaho

Aerial Mosquito Spraying in Boise- Practical or Political?

By Contributing Writer, 8-20-06

By Nathaniel Hoffman

Boise residents, given 104 hours notice of an air assault on mosquitoes, are scrambling to harvest or cover their crops, pick up their kids’ outdoor toys and get out of town.

On Monday and Tuesday night, two small airplanes will drop a brand name nerve agent over large swaths of the county, mainly in residential areas.

County officials say the plan will save people from the West Nile virus, but a researcher at Cornell University who has studied the disease says aerial spraying is a wholly political decision.

The high number of West Nile virus infections in Idaho – the highest in the nation this summer – is a concern, said David Pimentel, editor of the Encyclopedia of Pest Management.

“But then we ought to do it in a sound scientific manner and not just spray for political reasons,” Pimentel said.

“The politicians normally react that way to quiet the public.”

On August 10, on the recommendation of county mosquito abatement director Brian Wilbur, Ada County commissioners declared a West Nile epidemic.

No members of the public were present at the last minute emergency declaration meeting, county spokesman Rich Wright said.

A week later commissioners signed a contract to spray Dibrom, commonly known as Naled, over about 50,000 acres of the county on two successive days.

Two women who declined to give their names spoke against the plan at the meeting, Wright said.

The county held a press conference Thursday afternoon and scheduled spraying for Monday and Tuesday nights.

Mary Rohlfing at the pesticide-free Morning Owl Farm returned to town Friday and did not have time to contact the county about the spraying.

“It seems absurd that there was no opportunity for input,” Rohlfing said Sunday, taking a break from harvesting. She is trying to pick the ripe crops for her customers before the spraying, but still hopes to have the planes skip her acreage off Warm Springs Road.

“Would it have mattered if they said, ‘this is our plan in two weeks. In the meantime lather up on the DEET?’”

The planes will not release the chemical over the Boise zoo or over four registered organic farms, but Rohlfing is not registered with the county as an organic farm.

Wilbur said the county has been fighting West Nile with other tools all season. The district monitors and sprays mosquito larvae at about 1,800 sites. And with more than 80 complaints a day about mosquitoes it sends out trucks to spray permethrin, a naturally-occurring chemical linked to breast cancer.

Under numerous state and national West Nile plans, Ada County’s “multiple human cases” – 68 as of Thursday - make it a Category 5 emergency situation. That calls for a stepped up attack on the mosquitoes that carry the virus, mainly of the genus Culex, Wilbur said.

“The residents are telling us ‘get out here and fog,’” Wilbur said. “We’ve done that and our Culex populations are still climbing.”

Wilbur said the Dibrom spray that the planes will apply at very low doses is expected to cut down the Culex adult mosquito population by 90 percent, based on information from the Vector Disease Control, the Florida-based company contracted for the job.

Such an efficient kill is possible on a golf course, but unlikely in treed or residential areas, Pimental said, referring to his recent study and another from Harvard.

Even worse, Pimentel added is that 75 to 90 percent of the pesticide drifts off into the environment at large potentially affecting people pets and beneficial organisms, like ones that eat mosquitoes.

“This is an environmental hazard that exists,” he said.

County officials have given conflicting messages about the hazards of the spray. Wilbur has said repeatedly that it is fine to leave windows open and air conditioning on and that he has no concerns about any health risks to people or to beneficial insects.

“What we go by is the chemical label and the chemical label does not give us any indication at all, it gives us no reservations at all,” Wilbur said.

State Health and Welfare spokesman Tom Shanahan said the aerial spraying is an approved public health measure to control the spread of West Nile, but that if people are concerned they should close windows and stay inside.

Though Naled is approved by the Environmental Protection Agency for low dose aerial application to control mosquitoes, it has been found to make people and fish sick and is an extremely toxic chemical.

A preliminary EPA review of Naled in 1995 found “significant potential to cause chronic effects in mammals, acute and chronic effects in aquatic organisms, and acute hazard to honey bees.”

And a 2003 Centers for Disease Control report found that while the risk of acute illness from properly applied insecticides is low, 133 people were possibly sickened by them in nine states between 1999 and 2002.

A growing list of municipalities are banning or curbing the use of aerial spraying for mosquitoes.

“If they are going to use this they have to do it responsibly and not start blanketing our community within a couple of days,” said Elizabeth Congdon, who lives and works in Boise’s North End with her husband, 8-year-old daughter and pets.

The Congdons plan to leave town during the spraying.

“We’re not trying to be histrionic about it and we’re not trying to minimize the problem of West Nile,” she said. “There’s no pesticide that’s going to be 100 percent safe for creatures and people.”
[End of article]

I've suffered for years with chemical sensitivity. I know there are others like me. This is going to make a lot of us sick.

Thanks for writing this, Mr. Hoffman.

I'm apalled at the cheerleading coming from Idaho media - particularly the "fair and balanced" (ala fox news) piece the Statesman printed in their Saturday paper.

Although I don't have any illusion that anything will stop the county from this spray plan, I do think it's improtant that there is a record that there is NOT a consensus that "this is perfectly safe, totally necessary, just go about your business."

Maybe if people see this article they won't be intimidated to admit they're sick and point the finger at the spray Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

Very interesting that some cities are treating storm drains with larvacide EARLY in the mosquito season.(Hit the link in the story "a growing list of municipalities".) I don't know if that's practical here, but I like the idea of prevention rather than crisis-management.

Interesting article. I have some questions about his figures and if you're going to do numbers, 286 (or whatever it is this morning) cases of West Nile Virus with 6 deaths in Idaho trumps 133 possible illnesses due to the pesticide in 9 states over three years. I'm going to close my windows, turn off the fans and wait until early morning to open them or else turn on the air
conditioning. West Nile Virus is really bad stuff.

If you want to do numbers, how many people will even consider they might be sick from insecticide when they've been bombarded with denials that there can be any risk? As opposed to the number of people who get flu symptoms or just don't feel os hot and thanks to the hype will rush to the doctor to find out if they have West Nile. Also consider, that if you call a mainstream Doctor, or even worse a county health official, with symptoms of a major chemical reaction, as happened to someone I know years ago, you will be told it is impossible that you could be reacting to the spray and please don't bother to come in and no we won't report your hypochondria.

I have to question the science of "West Nile Virus is really bad stuff." As opposed to what, the other strains of flu that kill far more people every year? As opposed to the cocktail of food and water borne drugs, pesticides, herbicides, and hormones swimming around in everyone's bloodstreams, the combined effects over time of which are virtually unstudied? The chemical company scientists and the anti-pesticide scientists will present their cases to the EPA for years but I'd rather take my chances with the virus than with the spray. There are many ways you or I could avoid getting bitten by a mosquito but my garden, my car, and my not completely air-tight home will be sprayed tonight whether I like it or not.

You and Jennifer Gelband can shower in Deet 3 times a day and soak your pets and children in it for that matter. That's your business. But I really resent my tax money being spent to spray poison over my house and garden.

Robert,
Mercy, your accusatory message has me flummoxed. You're preaching to the choir. We ran Mr. Hoffman's story as a warning to think about the very things you've said. And despite my dead squirrel and the fact that I think I had the virus last week (no big deal, and I didn't run to the doctor) I'm with you all the way. I wish someone could get a court order to stop the spraying until everyone has the facts and the public could have time to express their cynicism.

Jill, I am upset so maybe my tone is more accusatory than I intended but, as I said, I'm really grateful you ran the NHs story. And Jennifer did imply (in jest, I imagine) that she was considering showering in Deet so I was just riffing off that.

As for Mr. Scanlin, he seems well intentioned enough but the comment that 286 trumps 133 irks me. It's an oversimplification at best and considering his professional background as someone who has excelled in dealing with complex issues in two branches of the government makes me suspect that maybe, just maybe, he's being just a tad disingenous. That's who my comments were directed to.

And before I unintenionally flummox anyone else, it's really nothing personal against Steve, either. Honestly, I've heard the name a few times before and my impression is that (if it's the same guy who was a legislator) he's a fine citizen.

If I'm atacking anything it's the *concept* (not the messenger) that the spray plan passes a risk-analysis test based on what we know (and don't know) about both West Nile and Naled.

If I'm preaching to the choir it's because at the moment this is the only place with an audience that's making an honest effort to consider a critical persective on spraying and I'm eager to counter any weak "but on the other hand..." comments.

Hey Robert, I just said I was going to put on a lot of bug spray (which I did. And I am bite-free. And I used Off with Deet added, nothing industrial, just the crap from the drug store). I said nothing about spraying anyone else with it. However, if you are out of repellent, you are welcome to come over and use some of mine.

Jennifer. I know you said nothing about spraying anyone else with bug spray. That was my point to Steve. That you, and others, are free to spray *yourselves* if that is what makes you feel safe.

Thanks but no thanks on the repellant offer (even though I know it was tongue-in-cheek). I haven't seen a single mosquito this year despite the fact that I live in the fly-zone and spend a lot of time outside. And my personal choice is to strive to live free of most classes of synthetic chemicals. I think you'd do well to do the same and if everyone agreed we'd eventually have a much less toxic environment. However, I try to accept that I may never see that day.

I admit I thought your "Time to Worry" piece fed into the "oh my gawd!" reaction which the County is using to justify the spraying that's going on right now. I realize it was just a semi-jokey, filler thing (right?) and not to be compared with your more serious investigative efforts but sometimes I think it's the jokey stuff that really shores up the status quo - intentional or not.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if your "ecological footprint" is lighter than most people's. Maybe it's lighter than mine. Which is part of why I even bothered to cross the reader writer barrier in an attempt to nudge you and New West into doing more that just feeding the fear that the pesticide companies are all too happilly exploiting.

All this reminds me why I usually resist the temptation to post to forums like this. Maybe it's my failure to write clearly but I really didn't set out to ruffle feathers (well, maybe a little, but not as much as it seems I have).

Anyway, they're spraying now so I guess this discussion is moot - at least until it comes up again next summer, if not later this year.

Robert, we really hope you'll keep posting comments. I think that it's sometimes hard to see that what one has written can be taken the wrong way by others. (Try this: After writing something, read it out loud in the tone of voice you would use if speaking, and/or have a friend read it before you post.) If you make it very clear who you are mad at and who is the target of your comments, it's fine to post frustrated/emotional comments. This forum is meant to provoke discussion. Please come back and post again.

On both August 21st and 22nd, they began spraying before 9:00 PM - the time they had announced to the public. I was caught outside on the 22nd, and although they claim they were not spraying when they flew directly down 24th, 26th and 28th Street, I developed small hives on my exposed skin four hours after their plane flew over me. I know I am very sensitive to insecticides, so I had planned to avoid exposure, but that's hard to do when they start spraying early. My reactions to insecticides have never included hives before. Is anyone logging adverse reactions? I'm sure Ada County doesn't want to know, but someone should keep that data and compare adverse reactions to the spray against illness caused by West Nile.

Gail, I'm sorry to hear that. A friend of mine was outside the spray zone and saw the droplets falling past the streetlights.

Do you know about Northwest Coalition Against Pesticides(NCAP)? If a no-spray coalition emerges, it will most likely be working with or spun off from that group. Their website is http://www.pesticide.org and the contact for Boise is Jennifer Miller jmiller(AT)pesticide.org.

Yes, I just learned about NCAP today from a friend and got added to their listserve. Thank you for the suggestion.

Most water in the Boise area comes to homeowners and bidness people via federal Bureau of Reclamation infrastructure, i.e., Lucky Peak Dam, Arrowrock Dam and the New York Canal. Boise was plopped down on a semi-arid landscape of sagebrush and native bunch grasses. But drive through the city on a typical hot day of August and what does one see? Automatic lawn sprinklers churning away at noon, sending spray into the air and water into street gutters. And don't forget old tires rotting away in the little hidden corners of suburbia, all the while serving as breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
The absurdity is beyond description.