For Backyard Citrus

As a resident in the pesticide spray zone

for the Asian Citrus Psyllid, you can OPT OUT.

CALL ASAP: 800-491-1899

If you are an Ojai Valley resident in the spray zone, you should have received a notification that your property is scheduled to receive an application of a pesticide by the state of California. For any citrus or kumquat trees on your property, a pyrethroid will be sprayed on the leaves. (Imidacloprid is also applied once a year by the CDFA to the ground underneath trees and shrubs.)

A list of trees and shrubs to be sprayed: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/acp/docs/factsheets/ACP_HOST_LIST_partial.pdf

As a resident, you DO have the right to refuse to allow your property to be applied with these pesticides, but you must call this number immediately to opt out.

Call 800-491-1899
 and say to the person who answers the phone that you want to PERMANENTLY OPT OUT of any Asian Citrus Psyllid spraying on your property, now and at any time in the future.  

WHY MIGHT A RESIDENT WANT TO OPT OUT OF THE PESTICIDE SPRAYING?

PYRETHROID, a neurotoxin that will be sprayed, is a synthetic insecticide with its own set of risks. “Persons, especially children, with a history of allergies or asthma are particularly sensitive, and a strong cross-reactivity with ragweed pollen has long been recognized. Other symptoms… include nasal stuffiness, headache, nausea, incoordination, tremors, convulsions, facial flushing and swelling, and burning and itching sensations.” 1

Pyrethroids have been linked to the disruption of the endocrine system, reproduction and sexual development, interference with the immune system and the induction of breast cancer.  Pyrethroids are extremely toxic to aquatic organisms, including fish. The widespread use of pyrethroids is a major problem as they pollute agricultural lands and water resources and affect non-target organisms and humans. 2

 Pyrethroids are highly toxic to bees exposed to direct treatment or residues on crops or weeds.3

IMIDACLOPRID (applied once a year during the CDFA spray program) is a neonicotinoid. Neonicotinoids, well documented as linked to Bee Colony Collapse Disorder, have been banned in the European Union since 2013.

Human Health Effects: Exposure to Imidacloprid is linked to reproductive and mutagenic effects and is neurotoxic   Symptoms of acute exposure include: diarrhea, fatigue, twitching, salivation, convulsions, cramps, and muscle weakness including the muscles necessary for breathing. 4

The emerging science suggesting that neonicotinoid pesticides pose a health risk to people, coupled with its contamination of waterways and food, raises an alarm beyond the already significant risk to bees. While more study is needed on the potential human health risks, the widespread use of these agrochemicals is certainly imprudent and potentially disastrous.

Furthermore, even lawmakers for the state of California question the use of imidacloprid.   The California Legislature recently passed a bill (AB1789; Williams) specifying a timeline for the reevaluation of neonicotinoid registration. The bill seeks more “scientific studies and review needed to formulate sound policy regarding the use of neonicotinoid pesticides and their possible interaction with the health of honey bees.” 5

Bee losses in the United States, where neonicotinoid application is unrestricted, continue to rise dramatically: 42.1% for 2014, 43.5% for 2013. And frighteningly unprecedented and new, bee keepers are now seeing bees dying in high numbers in summer (27.4%: summer 2014) when in the past it has occurred for the most part during the tough winter months. 6

WHO CAN BE AFFECTED BY THE PESTICIDE APPLICATIONS?

The public, including the unborn, babies, growing children, the elderly, the immune-compromised, and pets will get exposed to these neurotoxins (every insecticide, even organic, has risk).

The poison moves out and up the food chain in all directions, killing more than just the Asian Citrus Psyllid insect: bees, butterflies, bats, lizards, toads, salamanders and songbirds, including “swallows, skylarks, yellowhammers, wagtails, starlings and whitethroats… Where the chemical was heavily used bird populations fell by 3.5% a year…” 7

References

  1. Chemical WATCH Factsheet for Beyond Pesticides, http://www.beyondpesticides.org/mosquito/documents/SyntheticPyrethroids.pdf
  2. Synthetic Pyrethroids: Toxicity and Biodegradation       http://pubs.sciepub.com/aees/1/3/2/index.html)
  3. Tempo SC Ultra Label      https://www.backedbybayer.com/~/media/BackedByBayer/Product%20Labels%20-%20pdf/Tempo%20SC%20Ultra.ashx
  4. Chemical WATCH Factsheet for Beyond Pesticides http://www.beyondpesticides.org/pesticides/factsheets/Imidacloprid.pdf
  5. Neonicotinoid Pesticides: Not Just A Bee Problem by Jill Murray, PhD, Research Coordinator, City of Santa Barbara Creeks Division, March 3, 2015
  6. Mounting Honeybee Colony Losses, ACRES, USA, July 2015
  7. Ban Neonicotinoids Now – to Avoid Another Silent Spring by George Monbiot published July 15, 2014

For information on non-toxic solutions

for citrus greening disease, see “For Growers” tab.