Excerpt from the article
"The state agriculture department plans to use airplanes at night this summer to spray a farm
pesticide over urban San Francisco, Marin County and the East Bay, intending to eradicate a
potentially destructive moth"
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/15/MN99V2PMN.DTL&tsp=1
and the manufacturer
http://www.suterra.com/.docs/rid/10007/pg/press_releases.html
Mating disrupters target the pheromones of a specific pest. Can't help but wonder if there is a risk
to pollinators.
As a commercial apple grower I know that typically these materials are used in organic operations
as a replacement for insecticides and used well after bloom.
This kind of large spray program may be unprecedented for an urban area. I wonder if anyone
ever looked at any impacts to pollinators? How can they be sure that only the target pests
pheromones are affected?
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