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Help lead a legislative effort in Massachusetts to adopt state law that increases restrictions on pesticides used for mosquito management, while ensuring the adoption of ecological practices protective of health and the environment. To accomplish this, it is vital to support H 985/S 547 with amendments ensuring that effective pest management practices do not rely on toxic pesticides, which are hazardous to people and the environment.  

Protecting against the transmission of insect-borne diseases requires special attention to “source reduction” or management of breeding sites since the neurotoxic chemicals typically used are harmful to people and biodiversity. Legislation under consideration in Massachusetts, while citing the important principle of “ecological pest management,” must carefully define required practices that ensure more rigorous attention to (i) the prevention of standing water and related habitats for mosquito breeding, (ii) a clear definition of allowed “least-toxic” chemicals (larvicides) for habitat control, (iii) preventive use of repellents and proper clothing, and (iv) action threshold from surveillance data if infected mosquitoes are found. 

We are encouraging members of the legislature to join the effort to stop hazardous pesticide spraying for mosquitoes by co-sponsoring H 985/S 547 as a vehicle for attaching amendments that achieve adequate control by adopting practices that bring down the mosquito population. At the same time, this approach protects the biodiversity necessary to balance the benefits of natural controls. 

>> Tell Your Senator and Representative to Support H 985/S 547 to Advance Ecologically-Based Mosquito Management in the Commonwealth.

Mosquito management in the case of insect-borne diseases requires careful attention to practices that ensure the protection of health and biodiversity. Unfortunately, mosquito control programs are often hazardous to people and the environment because of the hazardous neurotoxic chemicals that are used, which end up causing harmful exposure to vulnerable groups of people who have elevated risk factors.

The pesticides typically used for mosquito spraying are hazardous to people. The class of pesticides commonly used are synthetic pyrethroids, which are nerve poisons that are particularly dangerous for those with compromised immune and nervous systems and can be endocrine disruptors that cause general adverse effects at very low doses.

Pesticides commonly used in mosquito vector control are dangerous for the general insect population that birds depend on for nourishment. They adversely affect bee populations, with studies showing that pesticide exposure can increase the vulnerability of bees to diseases and parasites. And, the pesticides drift into waterways and disrupt aquatic life.

The spraying of pesticides to kill adult mosquitoes is not effective. While aerial application is the least effective, studies have repeatedly shown that trying to control adult mosquitoes is the least effective way to manage mosquito populations.

Because of this, legislation should ensure that the focus of a mosquito management program is primarily on eliminating the breeding sites, with the use of biological controls, where necessary, for targeting the larval stage of mosquito development. In this context, monitoring is critical to determining if and when mosquito spraying is to be used; it also offers the opportunity to disclose the dangers of the chemicals to the neighborhoods and communities where any chemicals are in use. 

The legislation must define: 

• Mosquito management practices to target breeding sites; 
• Public education and practices that should be adopted around buildings and landscapes; 
• Acceptable repellents and outdoor clothing; 
• Least-toxic larvicides and larviciding practices; 
• Surveillance and threshold action levels for spraying; 
• Disclosure of chemicals used in spray program; and, 
• Notice of steps people should take to try to prevent exposure to toxic sprays.  

The debate on ecological pest management is important to people and their communities to develop effective mosquito management programs while curtailing the widespread broadcasting of toxic chemicals with nontarget exposure. The goal of the legislation must be to avoid the use of toxic chemicals through a robust program that manages mosquito breeding sites and provides robust public education on the steps that are critical to ecological pest management. 

>> Tell Your Senator and Representative to Support H 985/S 547 to Advance Ecologically-Based Mosquito Management in the Commonwealth..

The targets for this Action are state Representatives and Senators in the state legislature of Massachusetts.

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↪️ For more information, please see the Safer Mosquito Management resource hub.