Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Mosquito Control in Franklin

I had been wondering if the town did any arial mosquitoes control. Indeed, it does.

"Bti is virtually non-toxic to humans, plants, and animals. The Bti is impregnated on coarsely ground corncob granules. In the larger wetlands which are inaccessible from roads, these applications will be done by helicopters flying at tree top level. The granules, when applied, fall straight into the wetland and do not drift beyond the targeted area."

"Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis), a naturally occurring soil bacterium that kills mosquito larvae before they become adult mosquitoes."

4 comments:

Pam J. said...

I guess this is a good thing? I'm not fond of the phrase "virtually non-toxic" but it can be applied to everything we do. I just ate a plum: I washed it but I don't have any idea what was sprayed on it, or where. I would say, therefore, that I just ate a piece of fruit that I'm assuming was "virtually non-toxic." You're so much younger than I, but at my age I wish I could stop wondering so much. It leads to all kinds of info that I may not want to hear.

My pussytoes look alive but a little puny. I'm babying them, probably too much.

Frank said...

That's so nice given that I think the city of ny is still using up its stockpile of malathion! At least, this is the rumor since the days of west nile virus.

Michelle Clay said...

Oh, *that's* why Bti sounds so familliar - Bt corn. Here is more information on Bt: http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/BTgen.pdf

I guess it would be silly to worry about this stuff being dumped near my home, not just because it's likely present in the soil anyway, but because it's already in the foods I eat.

It does sound preferable to malathion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malathion Thanks for the info Frank!

Anonymous said...

A low-flying helicopter with curious gear underneath flew through the neighborhood today. I'm guessing it was for mosquito control. G thought it was the coolest thing ever - then we quickly went inside!

-Faith