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Southlake to participate in aerial spraying
By Chris Roark, croark@starlocalnews.com
Denton County is giving its cities the option to participate in aerial mosquito control spraying, and Monday the Southlake City Council voted to take the county up on its offer.
The council voted, 6-1, to participate in aerial spraying to help combat the West Nile virus outbreak that has impacted much of North Texas, including Denton and Tarrant counties.
Councilwoman Pamela Muller voted against the motion.
Some say it couldn’t come soon enough.
Mosquitoes become infected with the virus after they have bitten a bird carrying the disease. It is then carried to humans when the infected mosquito bites a person.
West Nile virus generally has two forms. The mild version is often accompanied by symptoms such as a fever, headache, vomiting and nausea. The neuroinvasive version can lead to serious, lifelong symptoms, and it can be fatal.
According to Kyle Taylor, emergency management coordinator for Southlake, there have been 350 confirmed cases of West Nile virus in Tarrant and Denton counties this year combined. Six of those have come in Southlake.
Also, there have been four deaths related to the virus in Tarrant County and two in Denton County.
The Denton County Health Department recommended Wednesday that County Judge Mary Horn declare a West Nile virus health emergency and request that the Department of State Health Services make additional resources available to Denton County in the form of aerial spraying.
Since part of Southlake is in Denton County, the city is eligible to join other municipalities who have opted to participate as well, such as Flower Mound and Lewisville. Denton, however, voted not to participate.
Much of the talk Monday focused on personal stories of the effects of the virus. That was enough to move the council to take action.
“This is not something to take lightly,” said Councilwoman Carolyn Morris. “If there is something we can do to eradicate this problem, then it’s our responsibility as a city to do that.”
Muller said there is still information about the spraying that needs to be examined.
“I wish I knew why Denton said ‘no’ to it,” Muller said. “We still need more information about this, and I think there are alternatives out there we haven’t explored.”
Residents were more split on their feelings on aerial spraying.
Before the public hearing began, Mayor John Terrell read aloud a number of emails and online submissions regarding the matter. Twenty-four residents were opposed to the aerial spraying, and 19 were in favor of it.
Once the public hearing began, 12 favored it, and nine were against it.
Those who favored it stressed the need to protect the community from the problem some say is getting worse every day.
“My house backs up to a creek,” said resident Elaine Cox. “I just spent $95 spraying my property, but I can’t spray a creek. And we have so many water features in Southlake. We can’t afford to get one more person sick. Even if this saves just one life, it is definitely worth it.”
Other residents spoke from a personal level, mentioning friends and family members who have or have had West Nile virus. Some residents, who have existing health conditions or have relatives who do, said they wouldn’t survive if they are infected with the virus.
However, many other residents were concerned with the pesticides being sprayed throughout the entire city.
“Exposure to dangerous chemicals does not lead to good health,” said resident Lisa Farnsworth. “Spraying is impulsive and is reckless based on fear.”
Residents who opposed aerial spraying were concerned about the chemical’s effects on humans, in particular the young and elderly and those with health conditions.
They were also concerned about the impact on the environment, such as fish and bees.
Denton County officials said the spraying would likely happen between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. on consecutive days.
City officials will inform the public of the exact date once it is confirmed.
Spraying will take place from planes traveling about 170 mph and about 300 feet in the air. The product likely used will be called Duet, which is the same product used by Dallas County. Several cities in Dallas County began aerial spraying last week, and early reports say spraying operations were successful in reducing the number of mosquitoes in various cities.
The chemical will be dispersed at eight-tenths of an ounce per acre.
Duet is a dual-action adulticide composed of Prallethrin and Sumithrin. Both ingredients are pyrethroids, or synthetic chemical insecticides. It is said to break down in sun and with water and does not stay active after five hours.
The product has been given the safety approval by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Center of Disease Control (CDC).
Despite the safety approval, county officials recommend residents to bring their pets inside during the spraying activities, cover small fish ponds and rinse out bowls that are outdoors.
Bob Martinez, public health preparedness coordinator for the county, said spraying is also effective.
“Aerial spraying has a 70- to 90-percent mosquito kill percentage,” Martinez said. “That just reduces the amount of mosquitoes that are able to transmit the disease. We’ll never get 100 percent, but we can eliminate enough to where we reduce the risk greatly.”
He said aerial spraying is beneficial because one aircraft covers 120,000 acres in one night. He said it also gets into areas that truck sprayers cannot, such as back yards and creeks. However, Southlake doesn’t use truck spraying because there have not been three confirmed human cases within a half-mile radius in a 10-day period to trigger the use of ground spraying.
Council members encouraged the city to continue efforts to address the mosquito problem, which already includes eliminating standing water, consistent mosquito pool testing and handing out larvicide bisquettes.
Coucilman Al Zito suggested the city work to address the problem earlier next year to be more proactive.
The West Nile virus peak is typically August and September, though it started earlier this year, likely because of the mild winter and wet spring. The first confirmed case in Southlake occurred on June 23.
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