Wednesday, November 23, 2016

In Zika Prone Miami Today: No Insects, No Birds ... Discuss ... by gimleteye

Friends, don't tell me you haven't noticed, too: in a season where birds descend in transit to winter grounds in Latin and South America, there are very few. At my home in Coral Gables there are also few mosquitoes, few other insects, and no lizards. I've lived in Miami for twenty five: it has never been like this.

The Miami Herald today reports glowingly on Zika control efforts in the greater Miami area. The article reports on the optimism abounding from Gov. Scott as Art Basel and winter tourist season approaches. The last line goes, as usual, to the Chamber of Commerce.
Bill Talbert, CEO of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, said he couldn’t “think of a better Thanksgiving present for the community,” and for Art Basel, the annual international art fair which is set to take place in the heart of the South Beach Zika zone next week. “This will lift us,” he said. “There is a light at the end of the tunnel.”

But that is not the last line. The relentless mosquito spraying is the reason there are no insects. No insects, no lizards. No insects, no birds.

And what about people?

There are plenty of us. But not enough discussion how we going to bear up, and our children, under the toxic clouds we are deploying to "control" Zika.

There is no way to know, because the state under Gov. Rick Scott and his Cabinet -- including Agriculture Secretary Adam Putnam -- are suppressing data on disease already. Stonewalling. Dis-information. Spray away, damn the consequences if cancer rates shoot up. (And they have shot up, in Miami, in the case of rare pediatric cancers in recent years. The state is silent.)

What kind of price are taxpayers and citizens paying, when the world falls silent this way? The answer to the question is in the hands of Miami-Dade state legislators and the Miami-Dade county commission. Pick up the phone and make a few phone calls. They got your vote, now hold them responsible for your health and the environment that connects us to all those disappeared birds.


12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't worry, President Trump will keep our concerns in mind.

Anonymous said...

1200 confirmed Zika infections in Florida which means it is actually many times bigger than reported, brace for next mosquito season since the problem is being ignored.

Anonymous said...

if only there were no gop'ers...

Anonymous said...

GOP'ers breathe too. Get cancer too.

Anonymous said...

How about enforcing Miami Dade ordinance and fining the bromeliad worshippers. They are everywhere. It's not about more regulation or less regulation it's about effective government. Bromeliads are a primary vector for mosquitos, effective laws are already on the books to fine/remove them if not regularly treated with anti-mosquito techniques, yet NOTHING is done about it.

Skip Van Cel said...

I stay in Wynwood and we were remarking this morning how this was the first morning we had heard birds chirping since they sprayed. Someone commented they saw a butterfly yesterday. Also the first one since the spray.

Anonymous said...

Yep blame it on the bromeliads

Anonymous said...

I spoke to a nurse at Jackson the other day and she thought the Zika problem had been eliminated. 100% wrong. People need to realize how little is being done to gain control of this situation. Unfortunately, we will see the results of this info-suppression when the babies are born in April, May and June. Very sad.

Anonymous said...

Bromeliads are loved by frogs. They live deep inside the plants. Ask my dog. He destroyed my backyard bromeliads, not because he didn't like bromeliads. He was tearing them up to get at the frogs that eat the mosquitoes that breed within the plants "cup". I now grow bromeliads in my front yard.

P.S. MOSQUITO DUNKS are a biological mosquito control (bacillus thuringiensis aka B.T.) that also kills mosquito larvae. The dunks do not harm birds, frogs, etc. They can be used in bird baths, flower pots, rain barrels, ponds - most areas with standing water. I buy mine at Lowe's, though I'm sure they are available at other stores.

The dunks are a preferable alternative to airborne poisonous sprays. They are also (relatively) inexpensive.

Anonymous said...

You can also take a half teaspoon of used coffee grounds from Starbucks and put it in each cup, and unless it washes out, it will kill the larva for at least 4 months. If nothing else, the genus of terrestrial bromeliads called Dyckia have good color and a typical bromeliad shape, but they don't have cups that hold water.

Anonymous said...

A 1/2 tsp. of coffee grounds kills mosquito larvae in a bromeliad cup. Yeah!(Must be Starbucks?? Fussy larvae!)
A Huffington Post article (and other articles) note coffee grounds being effective against the larvae. The grounds also act "as a deterrent to keep mosquitoes from laying eggs." Big problem: "To control the populations, coffee would have to be spread in every stagnant water source..." Same problem with Mosquito Dunks. Yet, if large areas could be sprayed with a strong (toxic) mixture of coffee grounds, this would be far preferable to some of the sprays blanketing vast areas.
I've always liked coffee. Even Folgers and Maxwell House.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/jason-tetro/coffee-mosquito-control_b_7300444.html

Anonymous said...

A Tampa Bay article on bromeliads and mosquitoes recommends a drop of cooking oil in the cup. Granular BTI and flushing the plant's cup with water on a regular basis are other options. Mosquitoes are also food for dragonflies and frogs and other creatures. There is a need for balance. http://www.tampabay.com/features/homeandgarden/simple-precautions-prevent-bromeliads-from-becoming-mosquito-nurseries/483443

There are many sources of standing water, which is why people need to inspect their yards, and be vigilant about eliminating possible mosquito breeding areas. http://bugofff.com/how-to-rid-your-yard-of-mosquitoes/