Subject: Re: QUESTION- Mosquito Control
From: [email-masked] (LodiCraig)
Date: 12 Jul 1994 06:06:02 -0400
Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture

In article <[email-masked]>,
[email-masked] (Robert Stevahn) writes:

>Here in SW Idaho, we have several Mosquito Control Districts which spray
>malathion to control mosquitos. The fact that one resides in such a
district
>can render Organic Certification impossible, because if any drift is
detected
>on your property, the Dept. of Ag. will withdraw your certification. 

I feel your concerns are valid, but that in practice it does not have to
be a problem.

I cannot speak for the laws and practices in Idaho, but here in California
our agricultural commissioners office would not permit the mosquito
control district to impact an organic farm in the way you describe, and if
they did they could be held liable.

I recomend that you check in with your ag commissioner's office and let
them know your situation.  I expect they would be more than happy to see
that surrounding pesticide applications are not allowed to threaten your
organic farm.

Have you had any freindly conversations with your mosquito control
district?  There are other ways of controlling mosquitos, but they are
more expensive, labor intensive, and less effective, so most counties
can't afford it.  You might even work out a deal that they use
non-chemical methods in the immediate vicintiy of your farms.

What ever you do, please make sure you are controlling the mosquitos on
your farm(s).  While a few people fear malathion might in some way be
dangerous to people, that has not proved to be true in practice. 
Mosquitos, on the other hand, vector disease that kill people and animals.
 That is a fact, and many parents have lost a child to mosquito borne
disease throughout history.  It's rarer these day, but would likely return
as a real and regular consequence if we take away our mosquito abatement
districts' tools.

Craig, a farmer in California