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Bob Hudson

Beach Fanatic
May 10, 2008
1,066
739
Santa Rosa Beach
Your questions were answered by experts in the field of mosquito control.

It seems you disagree with the answers provided.

We had no paid consultants that were present or consulted by our organization.

Mr. Page with the Department of Agriculture explained the responsibility that the SWCMCD has under Chapter 388 of State Statutes to protect the health of the residents of the district using EPA approved products applied by licensed SWCMCD technicians under strict guidelines and only when certain conditions are met.

Dr. Jane Bonds provided you and those present with data about the efficacy and risks associated with exposure to the EPA approved chemicals we use. Dr. Bonds volunteered her services and received no compensation for her attendance.

We work diligently to use the most effective, proven and approved methods for the control of disease bearing Mosquitos.

No one threatened you or took away your rights.

No employee of the district asked any question, they were present to answer any questions concerning their role or responsibilities.

We responded to your neighbors concerns about their right to receive a systematic approach to the control of mosquitos vs your wish to not be sprayed.

Your statement concerning the call volume or email communications with the district are not accurate or supported by various logs.

We openly stated that the policy is under review and would be considered further.

Many people have requested that we spray in your area but that we notify them when spraying will occur. You have been a part of a test program to do that.

We will continue to test and improve that system and will continue to honor "no spray" until such time as a decision is made on the current policy.
 
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Billie

Beach Comber
Jul 13, 2007
30
4
This community wants a safe non-toxic way to control the mosquito population. It is that simple. BTI only programs are in effect in most countries with similar mosquito issues as we have. The neurotoxin permethrin is simply unacceptable for the long-term health of our country, our specific area, people and the entire ecosystem. We are also subject to rampant spraying of Round-up products in our waterways and ditches by SWCMCD. Mr. Brewer told me that the department is spending budget money to send him to be trained on how to use it MORE in our area. There is a plethora of scientific evidence on the toxicity of these products as well.

These are not radical thoughts in the scientific community. Permethrin in trace amounts accumulates in the fatty tissues of the body and causes cancer, liver diseases, and is particularly dangerous to children. Round-up studies show the same. This is basic science and people are living in this area with cancer, liver problems and autoimmune disorders. This is what I mean when I state people are fighting for their lives and the neurotoxin truck is driving down their street 3 times a week in season. BTI's are a reasonable solution. I understand that this is 2/3 of budget is spent on this as pointed out last night. I appreciate that instead of permethrin. Yet, it is unreasonable to me to accept that my family and the community I love is to suffer the health consequences of a neurotoxin simply because no one is wants to discuss the toxicity of this chemicals. I simply cannot accept that and it scares us all.


Yet again tonight, there was no notification sent to me that a truck would be out spraying as I walked my dog at 9:30 p.m. I have applied for notification and sent 10 emails & phone calls alerting SWCMCD when I was not notified. What is so difficult about alerting residents before they are going to be sprayed with a neurotoxin? Why do officials from the Mosquito Control district threaten to take away No Spray signs and notifications in response to questions asked at public meetings? We are simply trying to educate ourselves and neighbors and make informed decisions to work toward a healthy community for our families and our children.
 

seagrovegirl

Beach Fanatic
Feb 9, 2008
3,885
454
Historic Old Point Washington
I attended the SWMCD meeting and found it to be positive and informative. Magnoliasf, are you part of the couple that left the meeting before it was over? You may have missed the discussion about why it is difficult to notify residents about spray times due to rain and wind and spraying is done only when the mosquito count reaches a certain level.

Living in Florida has it's drawbacks and mosquitos are one of them. Without Mosquito Control, our area would be unlivable and dangerous to our health because of mosquito born illnesses. A head of lettuce purchased from the grocery store, after being rinsed has enough insecticide in it than a year of spraying from a SWMCD truck. IMO, the minute amount of chemicals used to eradicate larvae and adult mosquitos is a trade off I am willing to take to live here.

I am not a paid employee or consultant or in any way affiliated with SWMCD.
 

survivor

Beach Comber
Jul 17, 2013
5
1
Yes, mosquito control is necessary but using toxic chemicals banned in other countries is not the answer. There are all natural alternatives available. The SWMCD director told me there were funds available to test some natural alternatives. Chemical companies rule the world (if you let them)! At least the grocery store and local farmers market offer organic heads of lettuce. Keep in mind, if you have a garden you are consuming toxic chemicals as well as inhaling them. Once you are diagnosed with CANCER, you are forced to look at alternatives.
 

Bob Hudson

Beach Fanatic
May 10, 2008
1,066
739
Santa Rosa Beach
Mrs Hyde

The "No Spray" discussion precedes any contact from you or any other member of PAC ( based on your Facebook page "Likes" that is 39 individuals)

It was first brought to the Commissioners by individuals that were concerned by being bracketed by individuals with "No Spray" signs who felt they were being deprived of mosquito control. That discussion goes back over a three year period.

I looked at the call report from last evening and found that the system called the number you provided at 4:35pm. The phone rang for 29 seconds. It was then answered either by a person or went to voice mail and left a message 28 seconds in length. The call log shows a completed delivery on the first attempt.

The system shows a completed call to the number provided by Mr. Barnes that started at 4:33pm, the number rang for 38 seconds and was answered began delivery and the number hung up after 6 seconds. The call shows a completed delivery status made in 1 attempt.

I have every email sent by you to SWCMCD and the records do not reflect the numbers in your statement.

Our trucks DO NOT SPRAY on a routine 3 times a week schedule. We only spray when landing counts exceed a pre determined number and then only when weather/wind speed conditions are met.
 
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Billie

Beach Comber
Jul 13, 2007
30
4
Mr Hudson,

I don't need you to explain your program yet again. I have sat in your office, listened on the phone, read emails and read all your monthly reports from last year. I understand what your organization does and does not do. The organization of which I am a part of is made up of concerned citizens asking for a safe non-toxic alternative to the neurotoxin permethrin being sprayed on us. Close to 100 South Walton citizens signed a petition, in a 3 hour period on one single day at the farmers market, calling for a non-toxic alternative to permethrin. We faxed this to your office and Mr. Brewer has this in his possession. Mr. Brewer has stated on multiple occasions that the call reports and system you employ are not working at times due to a lack of understanding about how to work the new system. I fully aware when I am notified and when I am not.

We could go on and on here. You clearly don't want to talk about the real issues, such as the toxicity of the chemicals you are spraying from your trucks. I will call more experts in this field as you suggested.
 

pattymcbob

Beach Lover
Dec 3, 2008
90
14
My house is beach front where we have no mosquitoes. Why is there spraying on streets that are within 200 yds of the beach? I understand that this is statewide. What a ridiculous waste of money! There are 3 houses on my street and not one of us wants spraying. How can we get the truck to bypass our street?
 

survivor

Beach Comber
Jul 17, 2013
5
1
Cancer is a pandemic and will continue to be so unless you remove the toxins in the environment in which you live.

An alarming example, that should be studied, is the number of elderly full time Grayton Beach residents who died of cancer over the past decade. Just ask the few who are still alive.

A decade ago we didn't have chemo clinics in S. Walton. Now you can go have pancakes at the Donut Hole and get a round of chemo right next door!

The chemical companies profit from spraying and from cancer. One feeds the other. Big chemical is making more money now than with war.

Wake up.
 
I have a question about why it is difficult to notify residents about spray times. I receive robo-calls from Regional Utilities when there is a boil water advisory. I realize that Regional Utilities has a list of all of their customers with their phone numbers.

So how can the Mosquito Control get a list? Provide a way for citizens in Walton County to sign up to be called if their neighborhood is going to be sprayed. I'm not suggesting an exact time, but more like what we do with delivery services, repair people, etc. -- up to an 8-hour window. That way people who are concerned about spraying will have a period of time that we'll know when to stay indoors. The people who don't care don't have to sign up.
 

Bob Hudson

Beach Fanatic
May 10, 2008
1,066
739
Santa Rosa Beach
Thanks for asking. We have a new system for people that want to be notified.

You can make that request on-line. A person has two options for the notification method they desire: 1. By phone 2: By Email.

We have been working on implementing this system for the past few months and believe we have worked out all of the little kinks with any new system. We have learned the limitations of both phone notification and email notification. Some people do not have voice mail and if a person is not a home then we are unable to deliver the message. Some people do not check their email on a consistent basis. People should choose the best option for them. Currently we cannot deliver both an email notification and a phone notification.

You may sign up by clicking this link (http://eepurl.com/Cvbzf


You need to understand the process involved in determining whether we spray an area on a given night.


1. Our 18 "mosquito traps" are visited early each morning. The traps are emptied and returned to the lab where a technician must manually identify under a microscope the species and number of mosquito's collected in each trap location.

2.Once the species/number are determined they are compared to the previous days numbers to determine whether the counts are increasing or decreasing and whether the counts are above the threshold used to determine when to spray.


3. Our Operations manager and director determine which of the 12 "spray zones" could or should be sprayed. We can only spray 6 zones a night based on the equipment we have.

4. At this point the Operations manager meets with our Executive Director and they look at the weather forecast for the 5:30 or 6-10pm time period. The forecast should not have rain in the forecast, the temperature can not be below 60 degrees and the wind speed greater than 10 miles per hour. They would then make a determination which zones will be sprayed if any.

5 A call process begins to contact our part-time spray technicians and their availability would also be a determining factor on the number of available drivers.

6. Our website (www.southwaltonmosquitocontrol.org) is updated with the routes scheduled.

7. The email notification system is utilized to send emails to those that have requested email notification

8. The robo call system is loaded with data to make calls.

After a testing period this process has shown that the notifications are made about 3:30 or 4:00 pm

If the weather conditions listed above are not met, the spray will be canceled.

This is what the notification looks like - I received this one yesterday at 3:55pm
 

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