Accidental Death By Insecticide

If I grow two heads next week, blame the California Department of Agriculture.

According to a pink notice slapped up on my apartment building's door, the "Asian citrus psyllid" has been detected in my neighborhood. I'd never heard of this bug before but apparently, as the name indicates, it kills citrus. Bye-bye California oranges if it takes over.

So what's the solution? An insecticide treatment is going to be doused around the neighborhood on Wednesday... and that insecticide treatment is, "highly toxic to marine invertebrates," and bees.

We'd also better hope those rain forecasts hold off because the insecticide can also cause groundwater contamination. Just. Great.

But no worries, according to the paper, everything should be all good and by the time I get home from work, I won't even know my neighborhood's been sprayed.

So, yeah, if you see me with two heads and a tail next week, know that I probably came home and breathed the toxic miasma left over from this insecticide dousing. There has to be a better way to get rid of this bug!

Comments

sippinwineman said…
So, are they going to tape little pink notices on EVERY bee hive? . . . .. .Jeeeez
Yikes. That makes me nervous.

Ha...sippinwineman.
Liz Dwyer said…
Sippinwineman,
You know! Makes me wonder if there's a tie between the death of bees in recent years and the use of this insecticide.

NYC/CR,
Makes me nervous, too. And it's bad timing since this stuff contaminates groundwater and we're scheduled for rain this week.
Sally said…
Creepy! And they wonder why Los Angelinos breathe so shallowly.
nick said…
Unfortunately there are so many toxic chemicals present in food, water, drugs, furniture and the environment that one more probably won't make much difference. Studies of the chemical content of the average person's body are pretty terrifying. It's a wonder we're all still alive.
Liz Dwyer said…
Sally,
A was talking to a colleague about this and he was telling me how polluted Hollywood is because of residue from the film industry. That makes this seem like nothing!

Nick
Yes, SO many toxic chems. I saw a TV show where the reporter tested the average American family and told them what chemicals are present in their bodies. It was pretty insane.

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