Chapter 3

The War on Mosquitoes

 

by Surac

THE AMBULANCE IN THE VALLEY

Joseph Malins

'Twas a dangerous cliff, as they freely confessed,
Though to walk near its crest was so pleasant;
But over its terrible edge there had slipped
A duke, and full many a peasant.
The people said something would have to be done,
But their projects did not at all tally.
Some said "Put a fence 'round the edge of the cliff,"
Some, "An ambulance down in the valley."

The lament of the crowd was profound and was loud,
As their tears overflowed with their pity;
But the cry for the ambulance carried the day
As it spread through the neighboring city.
A collection was made, to accumulate aid,
And the dwellers in highway and alley
Gave dollars and cents--not to furnish a fence--
But an ambulance down in the valley.

"For the cliff is all right if you're careful," they said;
"And, if folks ever slip and are dropping,
It isn't the slipping that hurts them so much
As the shock down below--when they're stopping."
So for years (we have heard), as these mishaps occurred
Quick forth would the rescuers sally,
To pick up the victims who fell from the cliff,
With the ambulance down in the valley.

Said one, in a plea, "It's a marvel to me
That you'd give so much greater attention
To repairing results than to curing the cause;
You had much better aim at prevention.
For the mischief, of course, should be stopped at its source;
Come, neighbors and friends, let us rally.
It is far better sense to rely on a fence
Than an ambulance down in the valley."

"He is wrong in his head," the majority said,
"He would end all our earnest endeavor.
He's a man who would shirk this responsible work,
But we will support it forever.
Aren't we picking up all, jut as fast as they fall,
And giving them care liberally?
A superfluous fence is of no consequence
If the ambulance works in the valley."

But a sensible few, who are practical too,
Will not bear with such nonsense much longer;
They believe that prevention is better than cure,
And their party will soon be much stronger.
Encourage them then, with your purse, voice and pen,
And while other philanthropists dally,
They will scorn all pretense and put up a stout fence
On the cliff that hangs over the valley.

Better guide well the young, than reclaim them when old,
For the voice of true wisdom is calling,
"To rescue the fallen is good, but 'tis best
To prevent other people from falling."
Better close up the source of temptation and crime
Than deliver from dungeon or galley
Better put a strong fence 'round the top of the cliff
Than an ambulance down in the valley.

Isn't this a great poem? It so perfectly and succinctly points out how we humans tend to respond to problems. We tend to ignore situations as they build, and let them grow and fester until they can be ignored no longer. Then we demand that Something Be Done.

With that in mind, here is the current, popular, “normal” way we deal with mosquitoes. First, we invite mosquitoes into our yards, homes, and neighborhoods by providing them with the standing, stagnant water they need to reproduce. We ignore the trash thrown in the bushes and the tires stored outside. Then, when we are attacked by the hordes of mosquitoes we are allowing to flourish, we call our local government and elected officials, and demand that they DO SOMETHING. While we are waiting for them to Do Something, we go to the store and buy a variety of noxious, toxic, or at least questionable chemicals to repel the mosquitoes, which we then proceed to spray on ourselves, our yards, our houses, our pets, and our children. (!)

Our elected officials, of course, want no part of this, but they feel that they need to Do Something, because their aides are fielding phone calls from irate, registered, voters. So they do the one thing that they know will have a visible impact as proof that they are DOING SOMETHING—they call in a mosquito fogging company. The problem is now off their plate. They have Done Something. I am not blaming our elected officials. Indeed, by the time they start fielding the irate phone calls, they are already in a no-win situation. They need more ambulances because it's too late to keep people from falling off the cliff. (See poem above).

 

Let's talk briefly about mosquito fogging companies. I am not faulting them either, for they do what they say they are going to do and they do it well. But when we call them in, we have already failed.

The fogging companies I am familiar with say that they fog with Malathion and Pyrethrum. Both are used as pesticides. Pyrethrum is touted as one of the least toxic of the insecticides; Malathion has been linked to some neurological and child development problems in humans. A small study I saw a few years ago linked Parkinson's Disease to low level lifetime exposure to pesticides; a recent study linked your risk of cancer to the lifetime exposure to pesticides of your grandfather. Your grandfather!! These were small studies; perhaps they are wrong—that's how science soldiers on.

 

I can't say whether these pesticides will affect you or not, but there is something I do know as a fact. 98% of your DNA is identical to the DNA of a chimpanzee. 61% of your DNA is identical to that of a fruit fly. Someday, if you feel as if you are getting too full of yourself, ponder this fact: 50% of your DNA is identical to that of a banana. (Think about THAT while you slice one on your cereal.) If it's not good for a fruit fly, it's probably not good for you.

Television is wonderful. Years ago, before “CSI”, hardly anybody knew about, or cared about, DNA. Now, thanks to TV forensics and crime shows, I'm sure you're all keeping up!

Back to the fogging companies: There is one thing they tell us which I would question. That they kill flying mosquitoes, I have no doubt. They do a good job of it, and that is what they say they do. My doubt enters when they say the fog ONLY kills mosquitoes, and nothing else. Well, common sense would say that a general insecticide would kill every insect it comes in contact with. In my personal experience, this is exactly what happens. When the foggers come through, they knock down every insect that happens to be flying in the area. I know some of you will think this is a good thing, but, what about lightening bugs/fireflies?

 

Do you remember, you out there of a certain age, chasing lightning bugs, usually on the Fourth of July, and putting them in a mason jar? Try collecting fireflies now: you'll be lucky to find some. Again—I am not blaming the fogging companies—if the fireflies are affected, they are “collateral damage” in what is already a bad situation, and there are several theories on the decline of the beloved firefly. Crawling around on my hands and knees, however, the morning after a mosquito fogging, I have found even caterpillars knocked down out of the trees, dead. There are many reasons there are few butterflies in your yard, but this probably isn't helping.

 

The fogging, by the way, kills only flying mosquitoes, and, quite possibly, other flying night insects, like moths and fireflies. It does nothing to kill eggs or larvae. So here's what happens: The fogger fogs, say, at dusk. The air is quiet and still, so the fog sifts down and settles, knocking down any mosquito which has the misfortune to come in contact with it, and maybe a bunch of non-target insects and caterpillars—all dead. Five minute later, 400 mosquito larvae, which have been happily developing in the tire swing in your backyard, finish drying their wings and take to the now cleared air. Many perfectly harmless or beneficial insects may be dead; your children, if they pry themselves away from their video games to go outside to play, may encounter pesticide residue, which may now be on everything in your yard; your tax dollars are gone (mosquito spraying is expensive—to spray once a week from May to September was around $6000 ten years ago) ; and you still have mosquitoes in your yard—perhaps more than you started with, as some insects that preyed on mosquitoes may have been killed. Our reaction at this point?--WE NEED TO SPRAY AGAIN.

Sorry, this is insane.

Can we change it? Sure, we can do anything; we can even put a man on the moon or go to Mars. We could control mosquitoes. However, the odds are against it. First of all, we've gotten into the situation we are in with mosquitoes because it's easy—that is, we want to do something convenient—spray it and go! Secondly, very few people actually spend a lot of time outside anymore—even children are rarely seen outside--”common sense” rules to avoid mosquito bites tell you to spray yourself with repellent, wear light colored clothing (?), avoid perfume (?), and STAY INSIDE—so very few people are likely to want to act. But you, dear reader, have stayed with me all the way this far, and I need to leave you with hope.

 

Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” So, in Chapter 4, we will visit “Controlling Mosquitoes; Successes and Colossal Failures”.