On the evening of Tuesday, September 22, Laporte County commissioners plan on spraying a pesticide called Dibrom throughout Laporte County to kill mosquitoes which potentially carry a disease known as Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE). EEE causes swelling of the head in a third of its cases, and presents itself more commonly in the form of neck stiffness, headaches, nausea, and more severely in the form of seizures and coma. While this illness is serious and should not be undermined, what is more important in the long run is the use of pesticides and their effect on the environment, our health, and the welfare of wildlife. 
Dibrom is an airborne pesticide usually applied as an ultra-low volume (ULV) spray by truck- mounted or aircraft-mounted sprayers.  ULV sprayers dispense very fine aerosol droplets that stay aloft and kill mosquitoes upon contact, and breaks down in the sunlight and in water. However, Not only will it kill mosquitoes upon contact, but any other insects that are touched by the spray at nighttime- sleeping butterflies, foraging bees, crickets, katydids, ladybugs, clickbeetles and moths, and many more will be affected and killed by this pesticide upon contact. Oftentimes, bees will not return to their hives but will sleep among flowers until morning. This pesticide will kill them. There are also animals that are nocturnal, such as bats and opossums, who will be in direct contact with this pesticide. They will get sick and potentially die from aerial spraying. Furthermore, this pesticide will work its way up the food chain- if a bat eats a poisoned insect, they will become sick. 
Spraying a pesticide in the environment throws off the biodiversity, and the ability for nature to handle infestations of a particular species. Spraying pesticides gets rid of the bad, but gets rid of the good too, and that is not beneficial to the environment. We need to give nature a chance to recover from the damage we have caused. If an area gets sprayed, it eradicates it of ALL insects. That does not benefit the environment- larger animals will fight for food, eat dead or sick insects and animals just to survive. It creates a snowball effect in nature and throws off the balance even more in the environment. https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/green-science/the_dangers_of_pesticides/
Please sign this petition, share it, and call LaPorte County commissioners and the Environmental Public Health office: 317-233-7173. 
Nature needs our help- we must NURTURE it. 
there are other ways to prevent mosquitoes from becoming a problem, such as dumping standing water, wearing long sleeves and long pants during late spring and early fall, and taking precautions when outdoors in the evening. https://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/7-ways-bypass-mosquito-bites-minus-bug-spray​

https://www.smcmvcd.org/post/eliminate-standing-water-where-mosquitoes-breed

Pesticides don’t just hurt insects- they harm everyone. Please sign and share.