Maplewood Pesticide Use Map

Are you referring to the "Mosquito Squad" signs that people put in their yards?  

weekends said:

Are you referring to the "Mosquito Squad" signs that people put in their yards?  

That is one of the companies that does spraying. Also Mosquito Shield. A lot of lawn companies will spray as well by default unless you specifically ask them not to. They are required to put a sign when they spray so you'll often just a small white flag with a picture of an adult, a child, and a dog crossed out like this:

Education is not going to dissuade people in the business from marketing to susceptible MAPSO homeowners (of which there are many). Their jobs depend on their not understanding it.

A few weeks ago, while out on foot at about noon, I saw a MS guy holding a battery-powered device emitting a “fog” directed at a group of arborvitaes in a front yard. When he finished, I asked him what it was for. “Mosquitoes”, he told me. I asked him where they were located. He told me “they hide out in the shrubbery”, and in the same sentence, told me “we’re always looking out for standing water to dump”.

Two days ago I ran into a guy from Essex County Public Works. He told me the men in the Mosquito Control division are the ones who run Essex County’s leaf collection in the fall. Before then, they spend most of their time in forested areas, spraying bodies of standing water that can’t be drained. He told me they’ll go to a homeowner’s property if summoned, and will do what is necessary to remedy the problem.

The health department could be interested in the findings of your study.  It would be interesting to see if there is a correlation between pesticide use and health conditions such as breathing problems, heart conditions, and life expectancy.  They have data on a number of these issues broken down by census tract.

dickf3 said:

Two days ago I ran into a guy from Essex County Public Works. He told me the men in the Mosquito Control division are the ones who run Essex County’s leaf collection in the fall. Before then, they spend most of their time in forested areas, spraying bodies of standing water that can’t be drained. He told me they’ll go to a homeowner’s property if summoned, and will do what is necessary to remedy the problem.

I called them a few years ago.  Super friendly and responsive.  But overall, no real solution.  They took a look around the property (probably for standing water) and didn't find the culprit.