Gardening: Menacing mosquito misters

A recent story in the paper made me take a closer look at mosquito misters.

They have been around for years, but interest has increased since they have been marketed as a replacement for screen enclosures. Hurricane Wilma destroyed many Islanders' enclosures, including mine, and the replacements are expensive and slow in coming.

Mosquito mist systems are scheduled to spray a mist of chemicals using a timer much like a sprinkler system or pool.

As with a sprinkler system, there are pipes or hoses and mist heads. A chemical drum, 55 gallons according to the story, supplies a natural pyrethrin to be misted around your yard at preset intervals of about 30 seconds in the morning, evening and night. You decide how many and which days your system should run.

This process supposedly provides a mosquito-proof area around your house.

The claim is that natural pyrethrin is nontoxic. Curious, I purchased natural pyrethrin and read the label. I'm not so sure I want my neighbors to have one of these systems installed.

The label stated: "Do not apply this product in such a manner as to, directly or through drift, expose workers or other persons. The area being treated must be vacated by unprotected persons."

Other precautions included: "Foods should be removed or covered before treatment. All food processing surfaces should be covered during treatment and thoroughly cleaned before using. Remove any pets before spraying."

The potential for spray to drift into an unsuspecting neighboring property is very real considering our closely spaced lots on Marco.

You could be barbecuing or having drinks in your yard when suddenly the mist system next door goes off. With a good wind, your food could be contaminated and you might not even notice if you were in the house when it happened. The dog is another innocent who could be regularly misted with or ingest chemicals in his food and water.

Since this technology is very new, it has not come under any regulations for this type of use.

Florida has a pesticide notification law so that chemically sensitive people can register with the state and must be notified before pesticides are applied within a certain distance of their homes. The company installing the systems checks this register and will not install systems near people on the register.

Cases have been reported of medical problems in people exposed at restaurants using these misting systems.

The constant and indiscriminate misting of a chemical into the air that could easily contaminate unsuspecting neighbors is not a good thing. Pyrethrin is a safe and effective chemical for use on livestock and in the house and garden when used according to the label. But the label clearly states, "Avoid breathing spray mist." Hello!

Hopefully we'll all have a new screen enclosure installed instead.