Amid deadly West Nile outbreak, Dallas begins using aerial insecticide for 1st time in decades

Still, some residents fear the chemicals could harm their children, pets and useful insects such as honeybees and ladybugs.

The chemical released from the planes, synthetic pyrethroid, mimics a naturally occurring substance found in chrysanthemums. The Environmental Protection Agency has said that pyrethroids do not pose a significant risk to wildlife or the environment, though no pesticide is 100 percent safe.

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About eight-tenths of an ounce of chemical is applied per acre, said Laura McGowan, a Clarke spokeswoman.

The insecticide’s common name is Duet Dual-Action Adulticide. The label says it’s toxic to fish and other types of aquatic life, and it contains distilled petroleum.

In states like California and Florida, aerial spraying is a “run-of-the-mill” response to West Nile, McGowan said.

When the mosquito population gets to be a certain level, “they automatically go up,” she said. “They do it as a matter of course.”

Kelly Nash, who lives in Dallas and works for an environmental consulting firm, questions whether the county is advocating for a controlled oil spill.

“One ounce an acre doesn’t sound like much, but we will spray at least 2,000 gallons all over the city,” Nash said. “A 2,000-gallon oil spill would be significant. I’m concerned that we’re breeding resistant mosquitoes that next time will have Dengue fever or something worse.”

Harris County, which includes humid, mosquito-filled Houston, has used aerial spraying once a year since 2002, the year the virus was first detected in Texas. The county uses ground spraying first and moves to aerial spraying as the virus spreads.

“We can’t be everywhere at all times,” Mosquito Control Director Dr. Rudy Bueno said. “Aerial treatment is a way to supplement what we do on the ground.”

Most people infected with West Nile virus won’t get sick, but about one in 150 people will develop the severe form of the illness. Symptoms include headache, high fever, neck stiffness, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness and paralysis.

Jordan Conner, 14, spent eight days in intensive care with the most severe form of West Nile virus. Her mother, Ebonie Conner of Arlington, said she doesn’t approve of aerial spraying and wishes local leaders would do more to educate the community.

“We’ve been desensitized to West Nile virus,” Conner said. “It’s been ingrained in us that it affects older people and infants. I think they need to pass out insect repellent, mention it in back-to-school drives.”

Lane Robson, who runs up to 30 miles a week around White Rock Lake near her home in Lakewood, said aerial spraying seems like the right decision. But on spraying day, she plans to run indoors on a treadmill just to be safe.

Robson, 55, remembers the last time Dallas officials resorted to aerial spraying. She was 9, and her mother told her to stay inside.

“You have to weigh the good and the bad,” Robson said. Spraying “is the lesser of two evils.”

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