Dog fly Boss going to be new swmc Director

[dogflyguy]

Well you guy's and gal's may have gotten your wish. The dog fly program (may) be history after june o8. Although it will be interesting to see what happens if the dogflies come in hordes like 8 to 10 years ago. oh and the boss for dog fly program just became your new Mosquito commisioner in south walton. ps I will soon need a job!!!!!

[wrobert]

Well you guy's and gal's may have gotten your wish. The dog fly program (may) be history after june o8. Although it will be interesting to see what happens if the dogflies come in hordes like 8 to 10 years ago. oh and the boss for dog fly program just became your new Mosquito commisioner in south walton. ps I will soon need a job!!!!!

You are confusing me which is very easy. Are you saying the dog fly boss is now the director over Mosquito Control for south Walton? Those commissioner positions are elected.

[florida girl]

You are confusing me which is very easy. Are you saying the dog fly boss is now the director over Mosquito Control for south Walton? Those commissioner positions are elected.

As I understand, Burke was removed by the Governor, so the Governor appoints a replacement. The voters will decide at the next election, which is Nov of 2008.

[Smiling JOe]

Confusing me too, I thought they already stopped the State from spraying poisons for "Dog Flies" from airplanes over our beaches and homes.

[wrobert]

As I understand, Burke was removed by the Governor, so the Governor appoints a replacement. The voters will decide at the next election, which is Nov of 2008.

The word I got from the Governor's office and the Agriculture Commissioner's office was that no replacement would be appointed until after the trial since that is going to be later this month.

They were in the process of hiring a director, and I believe that the remaining commissioners are committed to promoting from within, so I am thinking that someone at the organization got promoted to director.

Burke was suspended, I believe.

[dogflyguy]

Sorry if this was confusing it actually pretty simple since you guys dont want us to spray and we have an old supposedly unsafe plane the dogfly program "may" be ending june of 2008 so everyone is looking for a job and our boss was just hired by the south walton mosquitoe commissioners including burke who(may be getting his job back) appoint the director (not elect)..
The commissioners are the ones elected not the directors. but know that does not mean we will spray for dogflies we will be gone. Im thinking of going to work in alabama at some farms and see if i can help raise a few million dog flies haha.

[seacrestkristi]

Regargless of all that political stuff, sorry about your losing your job. That can be hard on a person but you'll find somethin' mo' better for ya dogflyguy, no worries. Who knows it could be savin' your life. Are dog flies=to yellow flies? Hubba is so allergic to those suckers. I'm sure the spray probably is kinda bad for people though. Most all of it says so right on the label. I breathed a lot of that stuff in one nite ridin' my bike down there. Maybe that's what happened to me.

[dogflyguy]

seacrest
thanks for the thoughts. im not to worried about my employment as im very skilled in several things and already have 4 job offers , just trying to decide if i want to stay in mosquitoe/dogfly. dogflies are only equel to yellow flies in that they are both blood feeders. but dog flies lov to chew on people and espicially dogs ears,hence the name dogfly.also dogflies come in late summer and fall with the north winds ,while yellow flies live here and bread heavily in early summer. yes it could be whats wrong with you but it also could be any number of things in your every day life. just read the label on anything you clean with ,use on your cat or dog or yard, the food you eat ,the air you breath ,what you drink . you name just "about" anything not used correctly can either injure or kill you

[dogflyguy]

Hey guy's and gals i just noticed why there was confusion. I started the post saying mosquito commissioner when i meant moquito director of south walton , my bad ,whip me,beat me say bad things. sorry again.

[SWGB]

It's all good dogflyguy, sorry to hear about your job. That really sucks, but if you like the area aren't there other pilot jobs available? I remember hearing something about a charter company starting out of PC I believe.

[savvytangerine]

Thanks for the info DogFly. Sorry about your job, glad that you have had other offers.

I do have to fuss up that I am happy hear that the srpay maybe no more.

[dogflyguy]

Hey savy
actually the state has a contract with a private company to spray for mosquitoes after storms and during disease outbreaks and will use them possibly for dogflies too. also there has been talk of the airforce wanting to help using a C-130

[Smiling JOe]

Sorry if this was confusing it actually pretty simple since you guys dont want us to spray and we have an old supposedly unsafe plane the dogfly program "may" be ending june of 2008 so everyone is looking for a job and our boss was just hired by the south walton mosquitoe commissioners including burke who(may be getting his job back) appoint the director (not elect)..
The commissioners are the ones elected not the directors. but know that does not mean we will spray for dogflies we will be gone. Im thinking of going to work in alabama at some farms and see if i can help raise a few million dog flies haha.

You would be better off to go to those farms and try to control the flies at the source.

Since the Dog Fly program was canned last year for Walton County, what importance does Jun 2008 have? I fail to see the connection. Also, if the Dog Fly Program is truly a State Program, and Walton County opted out, how does that leave the State employees who spray poisons, unemployed?

[wrobert]

Since the Dog Fly program was canned last year for Walton County, what importance does Jun 2008 have? I fail to see the connection. Also, if the Dog Fly Program is truly a State Program, and Walton County opted out, how does that leave the State employees who spray poisons, unemployed?

It seems that everyone survived without the program last year so does that not qualify the program as another needless government intervention? Seems like permanent dismantling of the thing would help us save some money.

[Smiling JOe]

seacrest
thanks for the thoughts. im not to worried about my employment as im very skilled in several things and already have 4 job offers , just trying to decide if i want to stay in mosquitoe/dogfly. dogflies are only equel to yellow flies in that they are both blood feeders. but dog flies lov to chew on people and espicially dogs ears,hence the name dogfly.also dogflies come in late summer and fall with the north winds ,while yellow flies live here and bread heavily in early summer. yes it could be whats wrong with you but it also could be any number of things in your every day life. just read the label on anything you clean with ,use on your cat or dog or yard, the food you eat ,the air you breath ,what you drink . you name just "about" anything not used correctly can either injure or kill you

Sorry, but that is only partially correct information. Yes, Stable (Dog) Flies feed on blood, both males and females. Only the female Deer (aka-Yellow) Fly feed on blood to reproduce. The males feed on plant nectar only. I will remind everyone that the Dog (Stable) Fly does not pose any threat to humans or dogs. They don't spread disease, nor do the Yellow (Deer) Flies, as I understand.

As for the rest of your statement, most of the other products in your home don't kill when used as instructed.

[SWGB]

You would be better off to go to those farms and try to control the flies at the source.

Since the Dog Fly program was canned last year for Walton County, what importance does Jun 2008 have? I fail to see the connection. Also, if the Dog Fly Program is truly a State Program, and Walton County opted out, how does that leave the State employees who spray poisons, unemployed?

Does Walton county have to opt out every year or is this permanent?

[Smiling JOe]

I don't know that answer, swgb. The opt out has only to do with allowing the State to fly in densely populated areas at altitudes under 1500ft (or somewhere around that). I believe that in order to properly apply the poisons, the plane has to fly at 150ft elevation, lower than some buildings in SoWal.

[SWGB]

I don't know that answer, swgb. The opt out has only to do with allowing the State to fly in densely populated areas at altitudes under 1500ft (or somewhere around that). I believe that in order to properly apply the poisons, the plane has to fly at 150ft elevation, lower than some buildings in SoWal.

That sounds like a lean toward an ordinance, thus permanent. Come on WaltonGOP, I rely on you for most of the nitty-gritty stuff here.

[wrobert]

That sounds like a lean toward an ordinance, thus permanent. Come on WaltonGOP, I rely on you for most of the nitty-gritty stuff here.

You got me on this one. All a commissioner told me when I asked was that they denied permission for the plane to fly low over the area. I never noticed a dog fly problem up here where I live and I thought the locals had those beach balls hanging in their yards with that black sticky stuff to keep the dog flys away.

[dogflyguy]

smilin joe
actually i want to go to alabama farms and raise millions of dog fly's to harrass and bring you pain. JUST KIDDING!!!! . that was my evil twin making that statement in an earlier post. joe the connection to june 2008 is when our fiscal year ends and because you guy's dont want us to spray and the big bosses in tallahassee think our plane is unsafe and the states buget is out of whack their cutting us unless we get lots of support. so rather than wait until we dont have a job most everyone is looking elsewhere for employment. so it's not enough support and too many headaches to continue.

[dogflyguy]

GOP
you guy's (walton county) may not have needed us but pc beach,baycounty,gulf county all used our services several times this year. they have all said they will look into getting their own aerial program if ours goes out,so send your unhappy tourists over here we have lots of new stores and condo's to please them. as your comment about saving the money our whole buget is only about 160,000.00 a year and the state has a contract with a private company that(they possiblymay use) they spray half as much as we did this year will cost at least 200,000.00 plus.

[dogflyguy]

smilin joe
Sorr i didnt get into enough detail for you, yes you are right in that the yellow fly females are the only ones that blood feed for protein to make eggs (good thing human females don't do that). but for details the yellow fly "Diachlorus ferrugatus (fabicius)" and deer fly "Diptera Tabanidae (chrsops)" are two different species even though they are both from the same family of 35 biting fly species in florida

[florida girl]

We also had drought conditions for the past couple of years. No one really knows what will happen as a result.

[florida girl]

Sorry, but that is only partially correct information. Yes, Stable (Dog) Flies feed on blood, both males and females. Only the female Deer (aka-Yellow) Fly feed on blood to reproduce. The males feed on plant nectar only. I will remind everyone that the Dog (Stable) Fly does not pose any threat to humans or dogs. They don't spread disease, nor do the Yellow (Deer) Flies, as I understand.

As for the rest of your statement, most of the other products in your home don't kill when used as instructed.

I guess it depends on what's in your home, and whether your bent on using it in that way! I don't think Liquid Plumber is going to just give you a stomach ache!

[Smiling JOe]

smilin joe
actually i want to go to alabama farms and raise millions of dog fly's to harrass and bring you pain. JUST KIDDING!!!! . that was my evil twin making that statement in an earlier post. joe the connection to june 2008 is when our fiscal year ends and because you guy's dont want us to spray and the big bosses in tallahassee think our plane is unsafe and the states buget is out of whack their cutting us unless we get lots of support. so rather than wait until we dont have a job most everyone is looking elsewhere for employment. so it's not enough support and too many headaches to continue.

I'm confused. If it is us in Walton who don't want our environment sprayed with poisons directed at killing insects, what does that have to do with the State cancelling a state-wide program? I could see your point if it was only up to Walton County to decide, but the Dog Fly program is a State Program, not a County Program. Did the rest of the State also dislike the idea of having their environment sprayed with poisons, with the intent of killing insects?

[Smiling JOe]

I guess it depends on what's in your home, and whether your bent on using it in that way! I don't think Liquid Plumber is going to just give you a stomach ache!

...just read the label on anything you clean with ,use on your cat or dog or yard, the food you eat ,the air you breath ,what you drink . you name just "about" anything not used correctly can either injure or kill you

Florida Girl, my reply was to dogfly's comment above. He states that if you read the labels on things in your house, you will see that if you use them incorrectly, they can kill you. My comment is that if you use the poison they spray for killing dog flies, is that if you use the product correctly it kills. It has nothing to do with using the product incorrectly. His analogy is very flawed.

[florida girl]

Florida Girl, my reply was to dogfly's comment above. He states that if you read the labels on things in your house, you will see that if you use them incorrectly, they can kill you. My comment is that if you use the poison they spray for killing dog flies, is that if you use the product correctly it kills. It has nothing to do with using the product incorrectly. His analogy is very flawed.

Using poisons correctly, doesn't mean they kill YOU, it kills what it's intended for!

[Smiling JOe]

and your point is what? According to the scientists, the poison they spray kills on contact, with only a tiny aerosol droplet, any insect the size of a Dog Fly or smaller. If it kills those on contact, what does it does it do to an animal, slightly larger? What about one double the size? It kills much more than the targeted, and non-harmful DogFly.

[dogflyguy]

[QUOTE]Florida Girl, my reply was to dogfly's comment above. He states that if you read the labels on things in your house, you will see that if you use them incorrectly, they can kill you. My comment is that if you use the poison they spray for killing dog flies, is that if you use the product correctly it kills. It has nothing to do with using the product incorrectly. His analogy is very flawed.
__________________
Joe i was not talking about killing insects although you may or may not be right about Dibrom killing other or bigger insects . there has not been hardly any sientific studies to say yah or nay on that. I was refering to seacrest blaming the spray for what was wrong with her not with the insects in her yard. so tell me where i am so flawed oh mighty one!!!

[dogflyguy]

Okay joe
let me try to explain this more clearer
1. No spraying in walton county (no more headaches having to deal with enviromentalists)
2. big bosses in tallahassee think plane is unsafe because of age and state does not have money for newer one.
3. state budget cuts (previous and this year 2007,2008)
4. private contractors can do the job
5.we only spray the pan handle counties except in disasters (see #4)
all of this equals no program walton county was just one more nail in the coffin

[Smiling JOe]

Sorry about that, dogflyguy. My mistake.

Regarding your other post:

smilin joe
Sorr i didnt get into enough detail for you, yes you are right in that the yellow fly females are the only ones that blood feed for protein to make eggs (good thing human females don't do that). but for details the yellow fly "Diachlorus ferrugatus (fabicius)" and deer fly "Diptera Tabanidae (chrsops)" are two different species even though they are both from the same family of 35 biting fly species in florida

It wasn't that you didn't go into detail. I only pointed out the error because the last time I listened to one of the Commissioners for Mosq Control, he was horribly inaccurate in his statements, and often got confused between the Dog Fly, Deer Fly and Mosquito. He'd be talking about the diseases they carry, and the next thing you knew, he began talking about Dog Flies, without telling anyone that he had changed the subject to Dog Flies, which don't carry disease. I didn't want the people who were trying to understand the differences to be more confused by reading partially correct statements.

I am not happy that you will lose your job, though I am happy that we don't spray poisons in a blanket manner. I hope you will make a good transition into another job.

[Smiling JOe]

Thanks for the further explanation of the State spraying. I understand. Out of all the Gulf counties sprayed, what percentage don't allow the State to spray? Is is just us environmental whack jobs in Walton County?

[dogflyguy]

joe
I know they (dogfly) bite like an animal but they are really an insect.
ask some of the northern dairy and cattle farmers if the dogflies are harmless or the local surf shops or local fishing charters???

[dogflyguy]

joe
sorry about the smart@## remark just my evil twin again.
yes it is only you guy's out of 6 counties who voted not to be sprayed ,but we also did not spray escambia too but only because they have not have the flies like in previous years. but beleive me if they ever get as bad as gulf county the last 2 yrs 30 to 40 counts someone will be spraying you again!!!. Id put money on that unless they come up with a better way. as i said before i don't like dibrom either but unless you come up with a better well working way i think your in for more spray. which may be by the state still with hired private contractors instead of it's own plane. or worse the airforces C-130

[Smiling JOe]

joe
I know they (dogfly) bite like an animal but they are really an insect.
ask some of the northern dairy and cattle farmers if the dogflies are harmless or the local surf shops or local fishing charters???

First, I'm no biologist. I do recall from 3rd grade science class, that insects, amphibians, fish, mammals, birds, reptiles, are animals, not to be confused with plants. Second, I never said the Dog Flies don't bite. If they cause harm to humans or dogs, please show me one official hospital report or statistic showing that a person was treated for a Dog Fly bite.

[dogflyguy]

joe
what about other animals that you care about such as horses and cow's that can get Anthrax,Equine Infectious Anemia and disentary. which the stable fly (dogfly) does carry. fortunetly they don't transmit to humans.

[dogflyguy]

hey
im thinking about taking a job with south walton mosquito control as a truck spray driver . where did you guys say you lived. haha just kidding again dang that evil twin!!!.

[florida girl]

joe
what about other animals that you care about such as horses and cow's that can get Anthrax,Equine Infectious Anemia and disentary. which the stable fly (dogfly) does carry. fortunetly they don't transmit to humans.

The statement "you care about" probably says it all! It fails me to understand why they use pest contol on their cats and dogs, in their houses, use repellant on themselves, but the dogfly plane is taboo!

[savvytangerine]

The statement "you care about" probably says it all! It fails me to understand why they use pest contol on their cats and dogs, in their houses, use repellant on themselves, but the dogfly plane is taboo!

Random fact: I use natural repellants on my kitties and myself. They do exist.

[wrobert]

2 yrs 30 to 40 counts someone will be spraying you again!!!. Id put money on that unless they come up with a better way. as i said before i don't like dibrom either but unless you come up with a better well working way i think your in for more spray. which may be by the state still with hired private contractors instead of it's own plane. or worse the airforces C-130

Did Walton County ever make the counts to qualify for spraying? I had heard that BCC permission was requested before the need had arisen.

[Smiling JOe]

joe
what about other animals that you care about such as horses and cow's that can get Anthrax,Equine Infectious Anemia and disentary. which the stable fly (dogfly) does carry. fortunetly they don't transmit to humans.

What about those other animals? Do you guys spray the Dog Flies around the areas where the cows and horses are located? Or, do you limit your spraying to the beach, where you have no effect on the population of Dog Flies that is around the cattle in northern Florida and Southern Alabama? As I stated, it seems strange that people would rather avoid attacking the Dog Flies at the source, where there are not many people, but they are very willing to spray the masses at the beach.

[elgordoboy]

Using poisons correctly, doesn't mean they kill YOU, it kills what it's intended for!

Can anyone here translate cuckoo into english?

[dogflyguy]

GOP
south walton mosquitoe control never sent any body out to do dogfly counts because of the commissioners not signing the letter there was no need to do so, but by the amount of complaint calls from locals and bussinesses we,Gary D and the commissioners received i would say you had sufficient flie's to spray the label calls fo a landing rate of 3 per minute

[dogflyguy]

Good morning joe
what you say about spraying at the source "would" be a better idea but there are many problems with that main one being if there is a north wind blowing it's too hard to pin down where the flies are at when the plane comes. plus we can't legally spray in alabama or make them spray. there are better way's too control the flies ,there are compounds you can put in cows feed to make it impossible for flies to multiply in the manure,but it's time consuming and somewhat exspensive. Also there is a wasp you can put out that will eat the larve but it is also time consuming and too much of a pain to keep up with so say the farmers and we can't make them do it!!!.. so like many things there are better ways to do things but people are unwilling to change for the sake of others. so we tried to find the fastest way to control them mostly for the sake of the tourist economic impact. locals where secondary i think. I think it's cruel to the horses and cows and would be happy if they would force the farmers to do something ,but this is america (free will) so i dont see that happening. maybe alabama and florida will make a joint task force to help the farmers with control . im looking for a job and i think those wasp's are pretty cool. did i say cool man i am old.

[Smiling JOe]

When I talk about controlling the Dog Flies at the source, spraying poisons from an airplane is not the first thing which comes to mind. We know the source of the larvae is in the poop of the cows and horses. If wasp are native to the area, and they work, they will be there naturally, otherwise, I get a little more than nervous in thinking we are smart enough to introduce predatory animals to control one other species. I don't think we look far enough beyond the information that the wasp will eat the larvae. I also understand that spraying pesticides on the grass which the cows eat, long term, it may build up in the cows, and it ends up in the beef we buy at the market. One thing is certain, there is no easy answer to control them in a manner which is safe to the environment.

I grew up on a farm, with cows, and we always had Dog Flies, when we had cows. However, they never bit. The gnats were much more disturbing. Do the farmers in the areas where the Dog Flies are concentrated have a problem with the Dog Flies biting them, or do they just live with it?

[florida girl]

Random fact: I use natural repellants on my kitties and myself. They do exist.

Back in High School I dated a guy that only did "natural" drugs! Little bit of green stuff, little bit of that white stuff....

[florida girl]

I think those farmers could care less what happens to our tourists, they don't reap any rewards from it!

[dogflyguy]

joe
being as you grew up on a farm you should that most farmers wear Coveralls and boots at least any farms ive worked on or been around and if you have been around dogflies very much you know that they are usally low biter's around the ankles and knees mostly so the farmer is pretty protected where as the cows are not and like any creature the dogfly will go for the easy meal first and farmers are a tough lot!!! and live with it. If your dogflies "never" bit you. you either never went out or you had only males or they were already full from the cows

[dogflyguy]

Joe
There is only one way that is enviromentaly safe and that is to spread the manure and food silliage out so it doesn't stay wet. dogflies need moist material to breed in , but once again the farmers are unwilling to go to this very time consuming labor. lots of places use the wasp with no problems as of now except farmers not wanting to spend the money or time to ocassionally replenish them.

[elgordoboy]

I think those farmers could care less what happens to our tourists, they don't reap any rewards from it!

They should make those farmers care about what happens to our tourists!