Mosquito spraying is bad for everyone.
Chemicals used to kill mosquitos do a lot of damage. They can sicken and kill pollinators like bees, birds, and butterflies. They are toxic to aquatic life like frogs and fish. Runoff from spraying can contaminate our fisheries, water supplies, and wetlands. They can sicken the workers spraying them, and the people they're spraying them near. They can be especially harmful to babies and children.
Spraying doesn't work. Mosquitos breed fast, faster than the bats, birds, insects, and animals that eat them. Spraying hurts predators by making them directly sick from chemical exposure, or by removing their food source. When the mosquitos inevitably return, there are fewer predators to eat them. More chemicals need to be sprayed to keep the population down. The expensive, toxic cycle continues.
Simple: I just won't spray my property. If only it were so easy.
Did you know that, if someone asks them, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will come spray not only the requester's property, but the properties around it -- and they usually won't even tell you? Rather than opting in, you need to opt out. And your opt out expires every year on December 31st. Most people don't know anything about this. Our tax dollars pay for all of it.
Click here to request an exclusion from wide area pesticide applications done by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.This exclusion does not apply if the Commonwealth determines there's a "Public Health" or agricultural need for spraying. This exclusion also has no effect on spraying done privately on adjacent properties. It's still worth doing, and it's worth setting an annual calendar reminder for January to renew your exclusion request.
If this seems old-fashioned (to put it mildly), plenty of experts agree. The MASSQuito Coalition is working to change laws and regulations to improve mosquito-borne disease control management in the Commonwealth. Learn more and support their work on their website.