Natchez officials assured mosquito-combating chemicals not harming people

NATCHEZ, Miss. – Mosquito-control experts assured the mayor and aldermen that the chemical used to kill the disease-spreading insects are safe for humans. Natchez residents have recently raised more concerns about malathion’s strong odor as it’s being sprayed throughout the city.

Meeting Tuesday with Mayor Dan Gibson and the city board, an entomologist who sells Natchez the insecticide said it’s “one of our safest compounds” and is EPA-approved. The chemical manufacturer’s representative attributed the stronger smell to it aging in storage since the city acquired the bug-killing substance a year or so ago.

Natchez resident Karen Dardick urged the mayor and aldermen to adopt the “least toxic” alternatives available to prevent “the very strong, vile odor lingering” in Natchez neighborhoods as the city’s bug-spraying truck roams around. She alleged it has sickened residents and suppressed honeybees.

Dardick – citing her experience as a gardening journalist and environmentalist – suggested specific techniques and types of mosquito insecticides the city should use. She also said to restrict the times the bug-spraying truck makes its summer rounds and to notify the public when it’s being done.

It should be done only during the dusk and dawn hours to ensure innocuous insects – such as honey bees and butterflies – aren’t exterminated, said entomologist Jeff North.

Gibson expressed confidence in the mosquito-control efforts done under the supervision of city Public Works Department director Justin Dollar, a licensed insecticide applicator.

Dardick said Natchez should form a study committee of residents to advise the mayor and Board of Aldermen on what to do to curb mosquitoes.

Gibson said they will consider her suggestions and work to address the public’s concerns as the city strives to protect humans while also combating the disease-carrying mosquitoes, which North said are “the most deadly creatures in the world.”

“The safety of our community is our highest priority,” Gibson said.