As of 10/2/20 (after the end of the serious mosquito season), 8 WNV cases has been reported in PA in 2020 (none in Chester County), according to PA Dept. of Health, “2020 WNV Collection and Testing Status” (download under “Previous Year Surveillance Results”). The 2019 PA total was 2 (1 in Chester County).

According to the CDC, as of July 13, in 2021 the entire country has had 11 presumed WNV cases and one death (in Arkansas).

Meanwhile, “The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 5,172 overdose deaths in Pennsylvania last year, a jump of 16% from 4,444 in 2019” (WHYY).

And much worse, in 2020-21 to date, PA Covid cases totaled 1,220,671 with 27,827 deaths.

Mosquitoes may be unpleasant, especially if we wish to enjoy the outdoors in shorts and T-shorts, but in the scale of things, they are not a problem of health or life and death in Chester County, and public resources should be marshaled to deal with genuine emergencies like overdoses and Covid.

Bifenthrin is a pyrethroid insecticide (thus in the same family as permethrin) which kills many insects (and of course it can’t tell the difference between spotted lantern flies or mosquitoes and bees and butterflies), toxic to fish, banned for agricultural use in the European Union.

And now our own state government is spraying it around us. The Department of Agriculture’s May 28 release begins:

“As Spotted Lanternflies hatch across much of the state, PA Department of Agriculture crews have begun to spray an insecticide that kills the insects on contact along railways, interstates and other transportation rights-of-way. Contact spraying is a new element of strategic efforts to slow the spread of the invasive pest, which moves primarily by hitching a ride on vehicles traveling out of infested areas….”

Well, good luck with that. It’s intriguing to picture the spotted lantern fly hordes lining up along route 30 to hitch a ride to the central part of the state. But how will spraying at the verge of a highway affect any SLFs that have already stowed away in the underneath and under-the-hood areas of trucks?

According to state law, people on the Hypersensitivity Registry list must receive advance notification of spraying within 500 feet of the residential, school, or employment locations they indicate. It’s hard to see how the law can be complied with in spraying at the side of a road, especially when the sprayer won’t tell us where they are spraying. Suppose a hypersensitive driver pulls over to change a tire or take a break?

And we have also learned that 13 non-highway locations in Chester County will be sprayed. For whatever reason, the Department of Agriculture has not chosen to publicly mention this aspect of its spraying program and does not publicly identify these locations. But here they are, so act accordingly:

L F Lambert Spawn Co Inc. 1507 Valley Rd., Coatesville

Lampart Limited Partnership, 1021 Charles St., Coatesville

Keehn Service Real Estate Limited, 99 Eleventh Ave., Coatesville

Old Coop, 1189 Old Schuylkill Rd., East Coventry

September Farm Cheese, 5287 Horseshoe Pike, Honey Brook

LCM-Mar Enterprises Llc, 749 Norway Rd., Kennett

Kennett Square Borough, 120 Marshall St., Kennett Square

New Garden Township, 1235 Newark Rd., New Garden

Shainline John J & Phyliss, E 800 Township Line Rd., Phoenixville

Clementine Realty, 35 Industrial Blvd., Tredyffrin

2480 LLC, 45 W Industrial Blvd., Tredyffrin

Pacer Industries Inc., 14 Laurel St., Valley

Codepeco Assoc, 1220 Wilson Dr., West Goshen

This year Don’t Spray Me! and its associated groups are offering not a new yard sign (see past signs, still available, here) but our first T-shirt. As pictured, you can order it in black or lime green. They are 100% cotton, high quality, made in USA, and will last through many, many washes!

Cost: $15 each with pick-up in West Chester and $20 with delivery by mail or in person. Please email us HERE and specify color, price, and size (small, medium, large, extra large), and we will invoice you accordingly. (N.b.. the small runs small, about 14-16 in youth size; the others are more true to size.)

Click HERE to view and bid on the 61 diverse and exciting items up for online auction to benefit environment and sustainability.  The West Chester Green Team, a CCEA member, is an alliance of four local environment-related citizen groups: Don’t Spray Me!, Chester County Citizens for Climate Protection (4CP), Ready for 100 (i.e., 100% renewable energy), and Plastic-Free Please Action Group (PFP). Please boost our local initiatives… and enjoy holiday shopping at the same time!

This flyer shows. the garden-related projects of the West Chester Green Team, of which Don’t Spray Me! is a member:

We need your help to fight unnecessary chemical toxins and promote healthy food and gardens!

To send a donation to support our activities, mail a check to Don’t Spray Me!, 513 W. Nields St., West Chester PA 19382. If you wish your donation to be tax-deductible, email here for information.

For comments and information overall or about West Chester Borough, email Margaret Hudgings.

Thanks for Courtney for finding this one, in her narrative of planting adventures on Instagram