Question:
This morning I stepped out to get the paper (luckily I was already
dressed), to see 2 guys in blue shirts walking off my property with a
mosquito dipper in their hands. "WHAT THE H*LL?" I think & note their
truck is parked 3 houses up. "WHAT THE H*LL?" I think again, I'm
ticked.
Now... many of the old rec.ponders will remember my troubles with
neighbors who don't appreciate nature, in particular tree frogs mating.
So I headed up to where their truck is parked, they see me, and it's
like, "Oops, we're caught." So they walk back towards me. I ask, "So
you guys don't come knock when you come on private property?"
"Well, ah, we were just checking the area and noticed and took a quick
check." To which I said there was no way they could have "noticed" from
the street. So I told them what I thought, that they got a complaint
and rather than come talk to me, thinking they were avoiding a
confrontation, they got one anyway. Had they come knocked I would have
showed them the whole yard and that there are more water holding
receptacles on my property than my lily pond to be worried about. Of
course they're all safe, between fish, taddies, or Bt. That's when the
one guy mentioned it was a yellow tub, the one I set up to quarantine a
T.lily, that got their attention. The yellow tub can only be seen if
you walk right up to the fence, so much for "just noticed." I think
what they did was use the dipper over the fence, BECAUSE the gate is
LOCKED. Who'd of thought I'd be keeping out ADULTS!!!!
Needless to say, they didn't find anything! Now that would have been
embarrassing?
When I came inside I was still upset, and I had yet to remember my
LOCKS, so was wondering where else had these guys put their little
dipper?
So I decided to call the Mosquito District and talk to the Manager. I
discussed the situation with him, and he told me they should have
knocked. He also said they had gotten a complaint in the area, so they
were checking the whole neighborhood. I mentioned the situation with my
neighbor (I wish I would have added if there are more mosquitos it is
because I had to remove 37 frogs!). He said that my address didn't
stick out as one being on the list. I also mentioned the dipper and
that I assumed they didn't sterilize that between tests? He knew right
away I was concerned about cross contamination. So the tub is being
drained (no T.lily yet) and sun dried.
I guess I'll have to add that to my neighborhood frog letter next year,
how I keep the mosquito larva controlled around here. GRRRR!!! I'm even
being so careful as to put dunks in my filter barrels. I don't think
the water moves enough, for my comfort, the surface looks way too calm.
Afterall, I don't want to be bit either!
The manager asked how I would rate the mosquitoes, and I said they
haven't been bad at all this year. Both DH & I have been bit once so
far, the boys not at all. I usually put tons of spray or lotion on, and
I haven't even been doing that. I've used some, but I tend to have to
get bit a few times before I'm real good about it. ~ jan www.jjspond.us
Answer:
You have a mosquito district manager? We don't even have a mosquito
district. Come to think of it, we don't even have a mosquito this year, the
heavy rains haven't given them a chance to breed. Mosquito inspectors with
special nets. I've never heard of such a thing. I wonder if they feed the
mosquito larvae to their fish. I guess guys with nets is better than trucks
with monster poison sprayers. I hear they use those in some communities.
