Choices

Look, a mosquito!

Should I:

1) Spray my entire property with synthetic pyrethroids that “target” mosquitoes and are “safe,” but which actually kill bees, butterflies, and all invertebrates, and can “persist in the environment” for months?

Or 

2) Spray my own body?

And empty standing water so mosquitos cannot breed? 

And maybe put on a shirt? 

And maybe put a box fan on the patio
so I can sit outside and watch the ecosystem at work:
watch Chimney swifts and Flycatchers and Dragonflies eat insects on the wing;
watch Bats eat insects on the wing;
or watch Goldenrod flowers where eleventymillion insect predators and pollinators are hustling,
buzzing,
flying,
eating,
keeping our world alive? 

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SAY NO TO MOSQUITO JOE

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I’ll give you some authoritative links, but first, here’s a good quote. It’s from the Southern Living article, “Why Your Butterfly Garden has no Butterflies:”

…”I’m appalled at how many people fog their yards with insecticide every summer to kill mosquitoes. These long-lasting, indiscriminate pesticides kill many more beneficial bugs (and pollinators) than annoying mosquitoes. If you fog your yard, say goodbye to butterflies, moths, fireflies, honeybees, praying mantises, and ladybugs. Because the fog goes any way the wind blows, you’ll likely turn your neighbor’s yard into a dead-zone too. Grumpy says handle mosquitoes as we always have: cover exposed skin or apply insect repellent.
The world isn’t all about you.”

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—Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation fact sheets:
https://xerces.org/publications/fact-sheets/supporting-ecologically-sound-mosquito-management

—Beyond Pesticides “Mosquito Management and Insect-Borne Diseases:”
https://www.beyondpesticides.org/programs/mosquitos-and-insect-borne-diseases/overview

The EPA fact sheet says of Permethrin:
“Permethrin toxicity data show that the compound is highly toxic to honeybees, as well as other beneficial insects.”
“Do not apply this product or allow it to drift to blooming crops or weeds while bees are actively visiting the treatment area.”

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More #SidewalkNature:

My Instagram posts are 100% nature, and most of it the Sidewalk kind.

I’m not fond of facebook, but some people aren’t on Instagram, so I post nature things there from time to time.

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Bio:
Joanna Brichetto is a naturalist in Nashville, the hackberry-tree capital of the world.

She writes about everyday natural wonders amid every habitat loss, and her essays have appeared in Creative Nonfiction, Brevity, Fourth Genre, Hippocampus, The Hopper, Flyway, The Common, City Creatures, The Fourth River and other journals.