5455J6DQ

54-DQ-6-1

Neighbor 1 hires a private pesticide applicator to come and spray the property in order to control mosquitos that may or may not carry West Nile virus. Neighbor 2, who lives next door, is protesting the application of the pesticide. Assume the role of either party and explain why you do or do not want the insecticide applied. Support your arguments.

In responding to your peers’ posts, do you agree or disagree with your peers’ reactions to the insecticide? Explain why.

Answer

In my home state of Virginia, a private pesticide applicator is someone who: 1) applies restricted use pesticides; 2) produces an agricultural commodity; and/or 3) applies pesticides on their own land or that of their employer (Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, 2019). The hypothetical scenario specifically mentions the hiring of a private pesticide applicator. I’m a bit confused as to the wording of this because in Virginia and other states such as Iowa, Minnesota, and Texas, a private applicator is someone who applies restricted pesticides (which must be registered with the state health department) on their own land, the land of their employer or on others’ land without compensation (Iowa State University, 2019; Minnesota Department of Agriculture, 2019; Texas Department of Agriculture, 2019; Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, 2019). If the individual hired to apply a pesticide for Neighbor 1 in this scenario is indeed a private pesticide applicator, then they are in violation of some legal and regulatory statutes, in which case Neighbor 2 could very simply contact the state department of agriculture about the violation, which would halt the application of the pesticide.

I’m taking on the perspective of Neighbor 2 since it seems the scenario is designed with a bias towards that viewpoint already. A lot of my peers have already stated that the application of a spray insecticide is inadequate to control the mosquito population, and given the information in the scenario—that these mosquitos may or may not have West Nile virus (WNV), it seems as though Neighbor 1 is: 1) violating the law by hiring a private pesticide applicator and 2) acting on insufficient information—if this scenario takes place in my home state of Virginia, then the state and local health departments have mosquito and specifically WNV surveillance programs in place. The fact that the scenario states that these mosquitos may or may not carry WNV means that they likely do not, and Neighbor 1 is reacting to the mosquitos in a disproportionate manner to the risk they likely pose. If the surveillance program discovered WNV in the mosquito population, then they would enact mosquito abatement that would not require the (illegal) hiring of a private pesticide applicator. In addition, there are a number of additional steps to take before spraying adult mosquitos that should be undertaken—most of which act on the larval stage.

References

Iowa State University. (2019). Pesticide Safety Education Program. https://www.extension.iastate.edu/psep/PrAp.html

Minnesota Department of Agriculture. (2019). Private Pesticide Applicator Certification. https://www.mda.state.mn.us/private-pesticide-applicator-certification

Texas Department of Agriculture. (2019). Pesticide Private Applicator License. https://www.texasagriculture.gov/RegulatoryPrograms/Pesticides/PesticidePrivateApplicatorLicense.aspx

Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. (2019). Pesticide Applicator Certification. https://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/pesticide-applicator-certification.shtml