Tag Archives: Methoprene
Long Island: Controversial Larvicide Remains in Mosquito Control Plan
The Suffolk County Legislature approved a 2018 vector control plan on Tuesday that includes use of methoprene, a mosquito larvicide, but also acknowledges a pilot program launched this year at Accabonac Harbor that is intended to reduce and possibly eliminate the pesticide’s use. The Legislature passed the 2018 plan by a 17-to-1 vote, a disappointment to activists who insist that methoprene is harmful to nontarget species including lobsters and crabs. click here to read the story 11:07
East Hampton Town Trustees to State Opposition to Methoprene – Why it Matters
The Suffolk Legislature is expected to soon decide on the county’s 2018 vector control protocol, directly affecting the methods used by the Department of Public Works in an attempt to reduce the number of mosquitoes in Accabonac Harbor and elsewhere. Last year, the department agreed to try an experiment aimed at reducing the aerial application of methoprene, a mosquito larvicide, in the harbor, rather than institute a ban. It called for the identification of “hotspots” that could be precisely targeted for spraying. click here to read the story Why it matters -2012, Lobster catch bottoms out – Many lobstermen are convinced that aerial spraying and the widespread application of pesticides used to combat mosquitoes after an outbreak of West Nile virus in 1998 is directly related to the 1999 die-off. click here to read the story 13:11
Helicopter Pesticide Spraying Continues Despite East Hampton Opposition
The Suffolk County Department of Public Works’ Division of Vector Control conducted aerial application of mosquito larvicides at salt marshes on the South Fork including Accabonac Harbor and Napeague yesterday. Weather permitting, the application is to continue today. The East Hampton Town Board adopted a resolution in 2007 opposing the use of methoprene and asking the county to cease using it. In 2014, citing the importance of commercial and recreational fishing to the local economy, the board reiterated its opposition, stating that methoprene “has not been adequately tested and found to be safe in aquatic and marine invertebrates, fish, and zooplankton.” Methoprene is moderately toxic to some fish and highly toxic to others, according to the National Pesticide Information Center, a cooperative venture of the Environmental Protection Agency and Oregon State University. It can accumulate in fish tissues, according to the center. It is “moderately toxic” to crustaceans such as shrimp, lobsters, and crayfish, the center says, and “very highly toxic” to freshwater invertebrates. Read the rest here 13:24
NY Legislator Schneiderman Introduces Bill to Restrict Pesticide Methoprene in Estuaries
The lobster population in the Long Island Sound has decreased dramatically over the last decade, corresponding with the introduction of new pesticides such as Methoprene, into waters along the Long Island Sound.,,”emerging science is showing Methoprene poses a significant risk to commercial fisheries such as lobsters and crabs,” Connecticut previously passed legislation in March, 2013 banning Methoprene. Maine is the only East Coast fishery where Methoprene has been banned for an extended period. press release here
