PhilDernerJr
2008-08-18, 08:56 PM
The city has began spraying larvicide in parts of Queens following a few people in Staten Island who were diagnosed with West Nile Virus.
I was playing hockey at a local outdoor rink this evening when police and the Parks Department told us to leave during spraying. I have no problem with leaving, because the last time they sprayed back in 1999, it made me sick as a dog for weeks. This is because I was underneath the spray of an old M*A*S*H-style chopper that was spraying it near Flushing Airport. Notice of their spraying back then was only a couple hours in advance, and anyone that didn't go home to watch the 5 o'clock news missed out. I watched this cool chopper above me from the Target parking lot for 30 minutes breathing it in with no idea. After that, I was out of commission for 3 weeks, as were many other people that I knew.
Again, it seems, there was little notice of the spraying. Did anyone see this in the mainstream news? This kinda thing should be HEAVILY publicized, because no one should be breathing it in. I understand the need for it, but spraying isn't the kinda of thing that gets put in a small article 20 pages into the Daily News. People should know about this in advance.
One thing to point out is that since 1999, I barely saw any mosquitoes around here in any summer over the past 9 years....until this one. Everyone I know has been getting eaten alive. I guess it took a long time for the general insect population, and the general ecosystem, to recover from all that spraying.
It's an unfortunate thing that I think we do need, but I hope you folks can avoid it if you can.
I was playing hockey at a local outdoor rink this evening when police and the Parks Department told us to leave during spraying. I have no problem with leaving, because the last time they sprayed back in 1999, it made me sick as a dog for weeks. This is because I was underneath the spray of an old M*A*S*H-style chopper that was spraying it near Flushing Airport. Notice of their spraying back then was only a couple hours in advance, and anyone that didn't go home to watch the 5 o'clock news missed out. I watched this cool chopper above me from the Target parking lot for 30 minutes breathing it in with no idea. After that, I was out of commission for 3 weeks, as were many other people that I knew.
Again, it seems, there was little notice of the spraying. Did anyone see this in the mainstream news? This kinda thing should be HEAVILY publicized, because no one should be breathing it in. I understand the need for it, but spraying isn't the kinda of thing that gets put in a small article 20 pages into the Daily News. People should know about this in advance.
One thing to point out is that since 1999, I barely saw any mosquitoes around here in any summer over the past 9 years....until this one. Everyone I know has been getting eaten alive. I guess it took a long time for the general insect population, and the general ecosystem, to recover from all that spraying.
It's an unfortunate thing that I think we do need, but I hope you folks can avoid it if you can.