According to the CDC, as of August 10, 2021, this year has seen 27 confirmed and probable neuroinvasive West Nile Virus cases (that’s the more serious type) and 13 non-neuroinvasive cases.

How many of those were in Pennsylvania? Zero.

We’re saying this so you’ll know that there is no health basis for spraying to kill mosquitoes here, compared to the damage done by spraying millions of pounds of poison nationwide and killing bees and other useful pollinators and causing neurological damage in people–ADHD, autism, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s–and disproportionately harming minority communities–and spending money we need for real problems such as Covid spiraling out of control again in many parts of the country.

Besides, we know that when an insecticide is applied in one area, whether or not it reduces the target pest insect population, others of the same species quickly flow in to fill any gap in population, whereas desirable insects like bees and dragonflies reproduce much less quickly and may not have population reserves waiting next door.

The map below shows the incidence of neuroinvasive cases to date by county. The closest counties to us with such cases are in Iowa and Arkansas! (The black area on the map south of us represents Chesapeake Bay and coastal and inland waters; the gray areas show that Maryland, Virginia and South Carolina don’t report by county, but those states had no neuroinvasive cases to report.)