Spraying for mosquitos in Dallas

So whatever they are using affects bees, you should find a beekeeper and see if he knows what is being used! Way to go Alabama! Nightspraying!

Permethrin kills bees, too. (And can kill cats.) They may still be using that. I know they are also releasing mosquito fish.

I see a ton of honeybees in the spring when my clover is in full bloom, but they always disappear in the summer. So not having them around now doesn't worry me. The bumblebees, carpenter bees and the native bees are still out in full force, but they also mostly live back in the woods where the spraying doesn't reach.

I've seen exactly zero butterflies this past week and weekend and about one-half the number of bees (plus wasps, bumble bees, dragon flies, etc) as prior to the aerial spraying of Duet. I don't understand why Duet would kill butterflies but not so much bees unless the bees were inside their hive protected from the spray. I still see a lot of mosquitoes in and around the garden about dusk but I'm lucky that they don't bite me. My wife is a different story and has a number of mosquito bites so we are closely watching to see if she develops any symptoms of the virus.

I am a person the skeeters find no matter what, and I will use all available methods to repulse them! Dryer sheets, Skin So Soft, mouthwash like crest, deep woods off, my best defense is cover up, and use those methods, stay in a breeze and full sun. I am not at home as usual- and Cleveland, Ohio isn't worried yet abt West Nile. You guys be careful.

We still have butterflies and bees (and mosquitoes). I don't know if they sprayed our area by plane, but the spray truck came thru night before last. Before the spraying we had a lot more dragonflies (which eat mosquitoes).
One section of our farm is 50' from the road, the main section is about 200' from the road. We have overhead water available to the entire farm, so we turned it on to wash off the crops.

Guess what?
I was reading the Italian newspaper "Il Mattino" from the city were I grew up in Italy, and the main article today was:

"West Nile virus, the increase in cases Veneto blame the heat"

Veneto = region of Northern Italy, including teh cities of Padua and Venice.

Here is the article if you can read Italian:
http://mattinopadova.gelocal.it/cronaca/2012/09/07/news/virus-del-west-nile-aumentano-i-casi-in-veneto-colpa-del-caldo-1.5656256

Or here is in English:

The hot summer helped the spread of the virus, transmitted mainly by mosquitoes.
In Veneto registered 13 cases of infection: study of the University of Padova

PADUA. The cases of infection with West Nile Virus, a mosquito-borne disease this summer has caused great alarm in the United States, are also increasing in Italy, especially in the Veneto. It reports a study published in the journal of the University of Padova. The article reports thirteen cases of infection, five of which nervous system involvement and three with fever, all diagnosed between July and August this year. The symptoms experienced by patients ranged from fatigue, headache, high fever, muscle and joint pain, gastrointestinal disorders, to meningitis and encephalitis.

"Just in the last hour - update Giorgio Palu, lead author of the study - we found two new cases of fever, and ten other cases are under investigation for confirmation." To increase the incidence of the disease was the hot summer, the expert noted, which increased the number of Culex mosquitoes, the main vectors of the virus that hit the U.S. more than a thousand people especially in Texas, forcing authorities to campaigns extraordinary pest control: "All patients have a virus of the same strain of the virus - says Palù - endemic in Veneto and identified for the first time in a patient residing near the river Livenza last year."

In my garden I am starting to see more bees and bumble bees. But just a few.
Normally when my Sweet Autumn Clematis blooms, I have one bee for every flower.
Look now!
No bees at all ... so sad !

When people notice and become concerned about the higher cost of vegetables in grocery stores due to shortages, I hope that they will think about how the shortage is caused in part by the lack of bees to pollinate the vegetables and the lack of bees is due to the aerial spraying for mosquitoes. The official results of the effects of the spraying won't be available for a year!


Did Veneto decide to do aerial spraying for mosqiutoes? I'd guess no!

I know the results already: no bees but still mosquito (I got bitten this morning)

I don't know about Italy ... I will be there for one month soon ...