Why is the Orange County Vector Control District so gung ho to spray chemicals in Santa Ana’s inner city neighborhoods when the Center for Disease Control says that:
Fortunately, most people infected with WNV will have no symptoms. About 1 in 5 people who are infected will develop a fever with other symptoms. Less than 1% of infected people develop a serious, sometimes fatal, neurologic illness.
There is ample scientific research that indicates spraying these insecticides isn’t a great idea at all. (See the links below).
But Santa Ana Councilman Sal Tinajero said in an email this week that he wants the spraying to happen. I spoke to Mayor Miguel Pulido yesterday and he is so far the only Santa Ana Council Member who is fighting the spraying. That is typical as the rest of the City Council is lazy and won’t spend much time on this – even though my sources say they are all being inundated with calls and emails thanks to our articles. We need to keep the pressure up! The contact info for all of the local elected officials is at the end of this post.
By the way did you know that the Orange County Vector Control District will give you free mosquito fish for “for stocking ornamental ponds, unused or “out-of-order” swimming pools, and animal watering troughs?” To pick up your own mosquito fish, click here. Also, if you know of a house in your neighborhood that has a rancid backyard pool or other issues that could be contributing to the mosquito problem you can report that to the Orange County Vector Control District here.
Articles on West Nile Virus and Pesticides
- An Open Letter by Concerned Physicians and Scientists: Stop the Indiscriminate “Friendly Fire” Pesticide Spraying
http://www.stopwestnilesprayingnow.org/Concerned_Phys_Sci_WNV.pdf - Stop West Nile Spraying Now, Support Effective Alternatives to Adulticide Spraying
Oppose Ineffective and Unsafe Adulticiding
http://www.stopwestnilesprayingnow.org/?PesticideFacts.htm - Pesticide Exposure Linked to ADHD Risk
http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/childhood-adhd/news/20100820/pesticide-exposure-linked-to-adhd-risk - The Safety Of Inert Components In Pesticides Questioned
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2006/08/15/the-safety-of-inert-components-in-pesticides-questioned.aspx#! - West Nile Virus and Mosquito Control
http://www.stopwestnilesprayingnow.org/WNv&mosqctrl.pdf - “West Nile Virus – Does it Exist?”
http://davidcrowe.ca/SciHealthEnv/200109-WNV-Mercola.pdf - Birds Fall From The Sky In Michigan
http://survivalbackpack.us/birds-fall-sky-mich/ - California Government West Nile Virus website (Latest West Nile Virus activity in California)http://www.westnile.ca.gov/
- The Safe-Dose Myth
http://www.stopwestnilesprayingnow.org/SafeDoseMyth.html - Overkill: Why Pesticide Spraying for WNV May Cause More Harm than Good
http://www.meepi.org/wnv/overkillma.htm - Myths about WNV and Pesticides
http://www.stopwestnilesprayingnow.org/DavisMyths.pdf - Blowing the Whistle on West Nile
http://reliableanswers.com/med/west_nile_virus.asp - Pesticides, Not WNV, are the Leading Cause of Bird Deaths
http://reliableanswers.com/med/west_nile_virus.asp - Why Are Bats Dying
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/05/01/why-are-bats-dying.aspx - West Nile Virus Weakening
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2009-09-10/news/0909090102_1_west-nile-virus-immune-globulin - ABC’s of toxicology; Basic Definitions
www.stopwestnilesprayingnow.org/ToxicologyABCs.pdf - Are Pesticides the Cure or the Cause for WNV
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/06/14/pesticides-west-nile.aspx - Prevail Against Pests without Pesticides…
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/26/Prevail-Against-Pests-without-Pesticides.aspx
If you are unhappy about the spraying, here is who you should contact:
- The Orange County Vector Control District at this email. Call them at (714) 971-2421 or (949) 654-2421.
- Supervisor Janet Nguyen – she is so busy running for the 34th State Senate District that she is not doing her job as our County Supervisor. And as a resident of Garden Grove she could care less what is done to the people of Santa Ana. Email her here.
- Our representative on the Board of Trustees of Orange County Vector Control is Cecilia Aguinaga. She is running for office right now too, for the SAUSD School Board. Email her here or call her at (714) 971-2421 Ext.115.
- The Santa Ana City Council. Email them here.
- Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez, Ward 2. She is currently running for re-election. Email her here and here. Call her at (714) 887-9845.
- Santa Ana Councilman David Benavides, Ward 4. He is currently running for re-election. Email him here and here. Call him at (714) 475-1630.
- Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero, Ward 6. He is currently running for re-election. Email him here and here. Call him at (714) 552-2800.
- Santa Ana Councilman Roman Reyna, Ward 5. He is currently running for Mayor of Santa Ana. Email him here. Call him at 714-647-6900.
- Santa Ana Councilman Vince Sarmiento, Ward 1. Email him here. Call him at 714-647-6900.
- Santa Ana Councilwoman Angie Amezcua, Ward 3. Email her here. Call her at 714-647-6900.
- Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido. Email him here. He is currently running for reelection. Call him at 714-647-6900.
- Santa Ana City Manager David Cavazos. Call him at (714) 647-5200.
The OCVC should get a refund for the unused AquaANVIL and purchase mosquito trap and hand out, free of charge one per household, to those resident who were schedule to be spray on Monday. This would be a great way to for the Vector Control to make admen and earn back the trust of SA RESIDENTS!
Yes! Shame on the city for attempting such a controversial tactic without explicit knowledge and consent of the community! There are so many better alternatives!
The city should give out starter plants of citronella, marigold, basil, lemongrass, and catnip for residents to plant. All of these and more are proven natural repellents, look it up! They can also provide supplies and offer workshops on building affordable homemade non-toxic traps. As you mentioned, probably more affordable as well.