We the people of Spring, Texas respectfully request that the Northampton Board of Directors immediately cease the fogging of mosquitoes in our neighborhood. In lieu of using toxic mosquito fogging, we are requesting the implementation of preventative measures and the utilization of non-toxic products that are safe for our children, animals, and the environment.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Mosquito Control Association, the airborne truck spraying of pesticides, commonly called mosquito ‘fogging’, to kill adult mosquitoes (adulticiding) is the least effective and most expensive method to control mosquito populations. The CDC stated that mosquito fogging should only be used as a last resort. This method is ineffective because the pesticide only kills those mosquitoes flying in the spray; larvae and mosquitoes behind buildings or under vegetation are not affected. Unfortunately, the pesticides used for adulticiding can harm beneficial insects, birds, fish, toads, and bats, all of which serve as natural controls for mosquitoes. Since fogging also kills insects and harm other animals that eat mosquitoes, it can cause future population booms for local mosquitoes. Adulticiding is not only expensive, less effective, but can be harmful to both human health and the environment. Moreover, if the same pest control process is used year after year mosquitos will develop a resistance or immunity.

Please note, Northampton has been sprayed with pesticides every week for many years which most likely has created a resistance or immunity in mosquitoes. Unfortunately, many of the residents of Northampton are not even aware that our neighborhood is being fogged every Sunday around dusk and are not taking the proper precautions, such as closing their windows during the fogging.

Solid, unbiased research data is being published almost every week that confirms the dangers pesticides can pose including cancer, asthma and liver malfunction, among other conditions. For example, children have a 50% higher incidence of leukemia if their mothers are exposed to pesticides in the home up to three months before a pregnancy, during or after it. Children under age two have 10 times the adult risk of developing cancer after pesticides; ages 3-15 have triple the risk. Children have a greater risk of developing asthma by age five after pesticide exposure within the first year of life. Several studies have found that pesticides increase your risk of developing Parkinson’s. At the University of California, their study found that some pesticides increase ones risk of developing Parkinson's by 75 percent. The many types of cancer associated with pesticide exposure include leukemia, neuroblastoma, Wilms’ tumor, soft-tissue sarcoma, Ewing’s sarcoma, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and cancers of the brain, breast, pancreas, stomach, prostate, kidneys, colorectum, and testes. A 2010 President’s Cancer Panel report “ Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What we can do now,” highlights the link between environmental contaminants and cancer.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends three alternatives to fogging:


Larviciding: Dropping contained amounts of pesticides in mosquito breeding sites and killing mosquito larvae before they become a nuisance.


Source elimination: Removing standing water to decrease breeding sites for mosquitoes. Residents can help reduce mosquito populations by regularly draining and cleaning the standing water in bird baths,  pet bowls, and clogged gutters.


Ecological approaches: Using natural mosquito predators such as birds, bats and dragonflies and other insects to control mosquito populations.  Putting up birdhouses or birdfeeders will attract predatory birds. A dragonfly can eat up to 100 mosquitoes for one meal!

The following are some reasons, Northampton should stop the spraying of toxic chemicals, immediately:

1.  Ingredients used in mosquito fogging are powerful neurotoxins, carcinogenic and endocrine disruptors. Northampton utilizes Excalibur Mosquito Fogging Company which uses pesticides containing: Resmethrin/Piperonyl a central nervous poison and potential carcinogen, linked to cancer and liver malfunction.  (Beyond Pesticides Chemwatch factsheet) (Excalibur Mosquito Company)

Synthetic pyrethroids, such as resmethrin or permethrin act on the nerve cells by disrupting the transmission of impulses down the cell. They are acutely toxic to fish, birds, bats and other beneficial insects. Additionally, “inert” ingredients in many pyrethroid formulations are also known or suspected carcinogens. (Mueller- Beilschmidt, 1990)

Resmethrin/Piperonyl butoxide, a harmful ingredient that is currently being sprayed, is not only a suspected carcinogen but believed to be highly toxic to the liver, kidneys, gastrointestinal, reproductive and nervous systems. It is suspected of being connected to symptoms and conditions such as coma, convulsions, renal damage, hyperexcitability, prenatal damage, vomiting, weight loss, anorexia and many more. Piperonyl butoxide works by inhibiting the detoxification pathways of it’s victim (mosquito), which means the pesticide is then permitted to remain in its victim for a longer period of time, so that it can kill it. In humans this detox pathway is in the liver, this means this chemical targets the liver.


2.   Safe alternatives exist such as garlic and cedar sprays which can last for a month. This should also decrease the current expense that Northampton Association accures ($5,745.60 per year, 32 weekly visits). Service providers which utilize natural and non-toxic alternatives should be researched and contracted.

3.   Pregnant women, fetuses, infants, and children have a greater risk of getting sick from pesticides. Our children and grandchildren are exposed to these pesticides that are sprayed weekly just by playing on our lawns (National Research Council). Airborne pesticides are particularly harmful as they may be easily ingested by humans and wildlife. Pesticide residue can also be left behind on items kept outdoors, such as children’s toys and outdoor furniture, or tracked inside on shoes.
 

4.   Children, the elderly, and the chronically ill are at greatest risk from chemically induced immune-suppression. (World Resources Institute) 



5.   Aerosolized pesticides such as those sprayed in Northampton can trigger asthma and aggravate respiratory conditions. (Washington D.C. West Nile Virus Response Plan) 


6.   0.1% of sprayed pesticides actually hit the target pest - 99.9 % go off into the environment (Pimentel, D. PhD., BioScience) The pesticides are actually negatively affecting our bird and bee population more than the mosquito population.

7.   According to the CDC, less than 1% of those infected with West Nile virus will develop severe illness. Human illness from West Nile virus remains rare in areas where it has been reported, and the chance that any one person is going to become ill from a mosquito bite is low." Thus, the risk/benefit analysis conducted by experts clearly indicates that the dangers of West Niles Virus are minimal and affect a very small segment of the population and that the long-term health and environmental risks of frequent spraying with synthetic pesticides poses a much greater risk (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

8.  The West Niles Virus and mosquito spraying should be monitored and serviced by the Harris County Public Health and Public Services, Mosquito Control Division and not decided by the Northampton Board of Directors or serviced by Excalibur Mosquito Company. Decisions on spraying toxins into the environment should be left to professionals in order to avoid toxicity and protect the health and wellness of humans and their environment.   The Harris County Public Health and Public Services, Mosquito Control Division have already carefully developed a plan to spray Spring, Texas. The reason they do not spray unless West Nile Virus is detected is that mosquitoes develop resistance to pesticides over time, rendering the chemicals ineffective. Spraying should only occur when mosquitoes carry disease. Further spraying is not warranted nor recommended.  Further spraying is not warranted nor recommended.  

The Harris County Public Health and Public Services, Mosquito Control Division of Spring, Texas protects the health and well-being of county residents through surveillance, control, education, research, and technology to prevent and control mosquito-borne diseases, including the West Nile Virus (WNV) and encephalitis.  Activities include:

◦ Monitoring the Culex mosquito population, the primary transmitter of WNV 
◦ Laboratory analysis of mosquito samples to detect WNV 
◦ Monitoring and testing of live and dead birds for WNV 
◦ Conducting ground and aerial spraying activities in areas with confirmed WNV 
◦ Providing education, training and information to citizens, schools, community groups and the media regarding WNV and mosquito control 
◦ Conducting research to incorporate data into operational activities
◦ Utilizing the Geographical Information System (GIS) to track and monitor mosquito-borne diseases

The residents of Northampton are strongly advocating for the use of an effective and non-toxic method for reducing the risk of mosquito borne illnesses. Until a safer solution is researched and implemented, we are requesting that further pesticide spraying be put on hold.