aerial spraying for mosquitoes

[florida girl]

As a operational policy we do not do aerial spraying. There are certain circumstances by which we could conduct aerial spraying. It is my understanding that this has been done only once since the district was created in 1964.

If landing counts were above a certain level and our ULV truck spraying did not reduce the landing counts below a bottom threshold then we could legally spray if our sentinel birds were testing positive for certain diseases.

There are many reasons why we do not do aerial spraying here to include environmental concerns for sensitive areas such as our coastal dune lakes.

The State Department of Health could also require us to spray if cases of certain mosquito born diseases were reported in our area.

Note to Skunky: We have brought out the good stuff ! We are now using Evoleur(tm) as our adulticide.

This product is effective in high temperatures, has quick knockdown characteristics, is low odor, is a non-
corrosive Synergized Synthetic Pyrethroid for Control of Adult Mosquitoes, Biting and Non-
Biting Midges, and Black flies.

The aerial spraying was done by the state for many years for Dog Flies, until our esteemed leaders succumbed to the pressure by those who compared it to Hitler's gas, a couple of years ago. As Vernon Bishop said, he's in his 90's and was a founding father and director of the SWMC, he used to stand in the direct path of the spray to determine whether it was the right consistency. The spray is and was formulated for specific pests and is and was a vital part of our survival in South Walton. At one time there was a population surge, then a bad hurricane caused a mass exodus. It has grown by leaps and bounds particularly since the efforts of our SWMC have paid off. Yes, ditches were dug to drain off low lands, roads were a by product of them. Without those ditches South Walton would mostly be uninhabitable.
At one time, the county and the SWMC had a good working relationship concerning ditches, but it seems in the recent times, this relationship has dissipated, as evidenced by the building of JD Miller Road, and the removal of strategic ditches.