Mosquito pesticides that are mass sprayed into the air are toxic not only to mosquitoes, but to humans and all pollinators – including fireflies, butterflies, and honey bees. The continued application of these insecticides will decimate firefly, butterfly, and bee populations until they face extinction. 

The organophosphate and synthetic pyrethroid (mosquito) chemicals pollute the air we breath, water we drink, and soil that our food grows from. Exposure to these chemicals dramatically increases the risk of developing cancer. This is not desirable in a world already laden with toxins and pollutants. The more harmful chemicals we can avoid or eliminate, the better off we are. 

It is believed that spraying to kill mosquitoes protects us from disease. But just as bacteria becomes resistant to antibiotics - mosquitoes reproduce so quickly that even if 1% of the population survives, they are able to repopulate and bounce back easily. Not only can they re-stabilize their population quickly, but they also can develop immunity to the poisons over time. This makes the spraying for them ineffective and counterintuitive. 

This practice has been happening for decades, yet mosquito populations have barely wavered, and firefly/lightning bug, butterfly, and bee populations have plummeted. Many of us have lived to notice the difference even in our own lifetime - why aren't there as many lightning bugs as there were when we were young? Or honey bees? Or colorful butterflies? Where did they go? They haven't gone anywhere - they have been suffering the effects of their eggs annually and semi-annually being killed from the combination of insecticides and herbicides. 

On top of this – only 10% of the various mosquito species can transmit disease. And of the approximate 3,500 species of mosquitoes that exist, only 59 species live in Ohio. That means very few - if any - of the mosquitoes we are trying to kill do not even have the potential to carry disease. Also, even if you were to get bit by an infected mosquito - your chances of developing malaria are 1 in 300. The Zika virus has been obsolete in the United States and U.S. Territories since 2019. We are killing the food source of birds, bats, frogs, dragonflies, and dozens of other animals in the food web, while simultaneously poisoning ourselves for apparently no good reason.

By loading the air with poisonous aerosol particles, the only thing we are killing is ourselves and our future. Instead of trying to control mosquito populations in vain, let us come together and take control of our health and our world.