Do you know what the active ingredient in the spray is? You can ask for a copy of the MSDS (materials safety data sheet) and I think that they have to supply it upon request.

To the best of my knowledge, most residential mosquito sprays are made of one of the synthetic pyrethroids on the market. The natural (organic, if you will) derivatives are pyrethins, an extract from one of the chrysanthemum species.

I don't blame you one bit for being alarmed, but try to find out the active ingredients and we can go from there.

Thanks for getting back to me. I've emailed the company (Mosquito Squad) but I'm sure I won't hear back until after the holiday weekend. Their website just says they use a "synthetic derivative of the chrysanthemum flower". I've read up on that compound, and while they try to make it sound good on their website, it is not good stuff. It is a known carcinogen and hormone interruptor...and my wife was in the house with the windows open 2 years ago while pregnant the first time they sprayed it without notifying us.

I'll report back when I get details from the company, but I believe the answer will be what I described above.

They use a combination of Bifen IT and Fendona CS. They are both pyrethroids according to my research.

Thanks for the support, TXSkeeter.

It's very worrisome what my kids are potentially exposed to as a result of this. The properties are very close and the spraying is every 3 weeks. Am I supposed to wash all toys, swing-set. table & chairs every 3 weeks? And who knows what got into my home when they sprayed when we had the windows open?

While I am careful about what I feed my kids, what I expose them to, etc, I understand that out in the world they are going to be exposed to bad stuff. They key is to minimize as is practical, not eliminate. However, I can't have this crap being sprayed beside our own backyard. That should be our sanctuary. I guess the neighbors are just as worried about mosquito bites as I am about chemicals. However, in our county, there are typically 3-5 cases of West Nile Virus per year...out of about 1.5 million people. However, the risks associated with pyrethroid pesticides have been researched and are clear. It's funny what some people choose to worry about.

It sounds as though your yards are small (or at least not much wider than your homes). Can you plant something along the fence line? Do you have a fence? If not, put one up, as solid and tall as you can get away with. If there is a HOA or city restriction on fencing, try to get a waiver based on your situation.

I'd be looking at temperate bamboos, arborvitae, etc....

I'd also report the spraying company for every notification violation, and complain about any overspray.

Sorry but I have to disagree with the suggestion of planting shrubbery or adding some landscape feature (tall, solid fence?) that you may not have planned on nor want to deal with regarding this singular issue. I do however, echo the suggestion that violations are immediately forwarded to the appropriate authorities. For all practical purposes, the neighbor in question may move out and away at some point and then you may be facing a different issue altogether with a "new" neighbor. Additionally, the more shrubbery either of you plant, the bigger the mosquito and vermin problem becomes. While most associate mosquitos with standing water, only the larvae are primarily water based with the adult versions moving on to other perches and feeding areas which may or may not be water related, and then return only to lay eggs for the next generation.

Perhaps the oddest thing about this commercial practice, at least to me (I started to use the phrase "funniest thing" but decided that it could be misconstrued here), is that particularly during the hottest parts of the summer, i.e.: prime mosquito time, most common pesticides are only active for a few days at most, especially when exposed to sunshine. That's not to say there aren't some residuals left but effectively, give them a week and they're typically diluted by heat, sunshine, moist conditions, rain and so on to be almost ineffective as to the intended insect. Too, some of these chemical potions are contact based, in other words if the potion doesn't actually contact the critter in question while being applied, the critter suffers no lasting damage.

So, the bug guy drives up in his fancy truck, sprays some chemical product(s) he may or may not know much about other than what the other bug guy at the chemical store told him to use OR that he found about in some weekend mini conference on how to increase your dead critter cash flow... and kills some number of unidentified insects of which many may be beneficial and in some cases may not even exist, leaves and then comes back later to do it all again? And then sends me a bill to do that? And then he's going to come back many days and/or weeks later to do the same again? I think not... Sounds like a terrible waste of money, product, and time to me but then, that's JMO.

Our poster is not concerned about mosquitoes. He is concerned about pesticides. If you can suggest a better method of reducing overspray into his yard, do share it.

Since I concur that the OP wasn't initially asking about mosquitos, I'll put it more to the point then. You cannot and will not reduce the effects of anything that is put into the immediate atmosphere around your home that is applied by a leaf blower or fogger type system unless you tent your entire property and or/can control wind direction and flow along with other atmospheric conditions that may be present when that activity is happening. High fences and dense plantings do little if anything to remedy the overspray issue. Educating the neighbor however, just might...

Thanks guys.

Correct, I am not concerned about mosquitoes. I am able to limit them enough by not having standing water in my yard, etc.

I did mention my concerns to my neighbor before this past season...and he went organic this year...but informed me it did not "work", and that they will be going back to the toxic stuff next season. I'm not sure how much more I can "educate" them. They have small children too, its odd.

There are moderately dense shrubs (rhododendron, holly, yews. etc) along the property line in the back yard. In the front yard is nothing but a split rail fence. The homes are only about 25 feet apart. And, this spray is a "perimeter" treatment, so they are literally spraying as close to my property as possible, in my direction.

I'm wondering if these chemicals can be applied by the company via some other means (not a leaf-blower type system)? Maybe more of a manual pump sprayer thing?

I had been in contact with the state DEC and they said I cannot officially request a neighbor not spray, but to contact them if I had concerns that the way it was being applied was causing drift into my yard, etc. Given how close the properties are, it sounds like the leaf-blower application method pretty much guarantees drift into my yard. Given that. it sounds like I may have a solid reason to officially request a different application mechanism, at the very least?

"Pyrethroid ingestion gives rise within minutes to a sore throat, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. There may be mouth ulceration, increased secretions and/or dysphagia. Systemic effects occur 4-48 hours after exposure." Poisoning due to pyrethroids.

Pyrethroids (synthetic pesticides) kill a lot of natural predators of mosquito larvae including dragonflies and all other aquatic life. Not to mention, they are a broad-spectrum pesticide that also kill bees, Monarch butterflies, and all other bugs...which are all vital parts of the food chain.

Incidentally, heavy rains tend to decrease West Nile infections right afterwards, not increase it. As the real risk of West Nile virus is proportional to stagnant water and hot weather (which heavy rains tend to flush out)...like in Uganda, where it was first discovered.

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the species thriving in recent rains aren’t known for carrying the West Nile virus.

Dr. Michael Merchant, an entomologist with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, says the mosquitoes most people are seeing are floodwater mosquitoes.

“They’re very aggressive and they have a pretty painful bite as far as mosquitoes go,” explained Merchant. “They’re the ones that come out after really heavy rains because they lay their eggs in low spots in the ground.”

The mosquitoes can spread heartworm disease to dogs, but don’t transmit the West Nile virus.

The aedes and culex types of mosquitoes that spread West Nile prefer stagnant water. Merchant says their breeding grounds are disrupted by fresh, heavy rains at a time when cooler temperatures signal a slowdown in activity.

“The West Nile virus mosquitoes do not like this kind of weather. It washes out their dirty stinky breeding holes and causes them to go away a little while,” said Merchant.

Even so, he says people shouldn’t let their guard down.

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West Nile virus has been detected in more than 30 kinds of mosquitoes. However, only a very few species are expected to be important in West Nile virus transmission. The most prominent include the northern house mosquito, Culex pipiens, and Culex tarsalis, both of which occur in Colorado. Aedes vexans, is another potentially important transmitter that occurs locally.

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About 1 in 5 people who are infected develop a fever and other symptoms.
About 1 out of 150 infected people develop a serious, sometimes fatal, illness.

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Point being, WNV can be very serious...but is also only transmitted from a few species of mosquitoes, not typically right after rains, and less than .7% of people even infected with it actually die from it.

So I was told by my state DEC that the law states the following:

NYCRR Part 325 Section 325.2(a) states: “ Pesticides must be used in such a manner and under such wind and other conditions as to prevent contamination of people, pets, fish, wildlife, crops, property, structures, lands, pasturage or waters adjacent to the area of use.” Therefore, a person applying a pesticide is responsible for ensuring the pesticide reaches only the intended target.

He said I can file a complaint if I believe the applicator is not meeting the above requirements.

So....seeing as A) Our properties are about 80 feet wide, and the homes less than 30 feet apart and more importantly B) This is a PERIMETER Mosquito spraying...in other words, they spray the shrubs around the perimeter of my neighbor's yard (i.e. only feet or inches from my property) it then stands to reason that the backpack leafblower type delivery system would by definition FAIL according to the above law, correct? There is no way they can control the spraying of that type of blower to within inches. Plus, I for a fact saw the foliage on some of my shrubs blowing about from the force of the device.

I'm thinking there are good grounds to request that if the toxic pesticides are to be used, they must be applied with something like a manual pump sprayer, or any other kid of device that allows for greater precision and less dispersion into the air. I wont necessarily need to file a complaint, but I can see if they would officially be required to use a different application method.

What do you think?

Updating

Sorry last post didn't go through properly.

I have consulted with an environmental attorney.

The law says there can be zero drift. impossible to do, I imagine, with backpack foggers around the perimeter of a yard.

Lawyer suggests a letter to neighbor but directed at any company that is hired stating the laws and that we will simply hold them to it.

What do you think? Not really asking anything special here...well, I guess expecting these companies to follow the law is atypical!

I have been using Mosquito Milk for a while now, although out here in the UK we do not get many mosquitoes it does works well to repel Midges (annoying buggers) and other bugs. My neighbours use it as well and they have kids however they do know many parents that would prefer deet-free products.

my neighbour has been spraying permethrin into our property for four years now. we have asked them to stop repeatedly. the company doing the spraying told us the product was a 'natural product made with chrysanthemums and would not hurt anyone' when I researched permethrin and discovered that not only is it toxic to wildlife, pollinators (we go to great trouble to garden organically) fish (they were spraying it into our drainage ditch which goes directly into the water supply and canal here in Ottawa) and that it will KILL YOUR CATS if they are exposed to it, we took down the name of the company and reported them to the Minister of the Environment. We managed to scare off that company since they were spraying illegally into wind, into our house - the product was drifting into our windows, etc, and we can't let our cats out into our yard any more. This year our neighbours hired a new company. We tried to discuss the matter with them over the last four years but they do not want to hear it, refuse to read the information on permethrin we complied for them, and, after learning it can kill our pets basically said they do not care and it won't hurt their dog (I think it will, but they only believe the company). In Canada permethrin is supposed to be used surgically, if at all, and not sprayed into the wind willy-nilly to kill mosquitoes and ticks. For companies to tell their clients it is harmless is in my opinion criminal. Research is discovering it affects the human nervous system and can potentially cause nervous system disorders. When our neighbours spray I have often been covered in the stuff and it is in my throat and nose even while I am working in my office if I do not realize they are spraying until it is too late to close the window. I wish someone would do something about this. This year I have decided I will buy a leaf blower and blow it back when they start spraying the stuff through the chain link fence. It is the only thing I can think of doing.

A Sept 2018 safety review:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6174339/

Trash doesn’t feed mosquitos. Stagnant water breeds mosquitos.

Cover or drain sources of stagnant water, especially puddles.

Mosquitos lay their eggs on stagnant water The eggs hatch onto larva that eat the animals just below the surface of the stagnant water. The larva pupate in mats that float on the surface water. The pupa hatch into imago that only drink nectar and blood.

The imago mostly live off nectar from flowers. The female imago only drink blood just before they lay eggs.

Covering or draining the puddles will also get rid of roaches. Roaches need water more often than they need food.

I have the same problem… The company that sprays my neighbors’ yard (our lots are only about a third of an acre), they spray into my yard because they were spraying all of my trees along the property line even though I’ve asked them not to do that they still do it. The guy that does it is an older gentleman and he’s claims it’s made of crushed chrysanthemums I think he said and claims that it’s natural and perfectly harmless even though his lungs don’t function anymore - says everything stays open and doesn’t close when it’s supposed to and his pulmonologist is flabbergasted about it 🤦🏼‍♀️. I have unexplained lung nodules and I’m worried about what this stuff is doing and how it might be contributing to my unexplainable issue. I stay indoors - just today had to run inside even though I was working in the yard to avoid it but worry it is pulled inside the house by my HVAC so I’m likely still impacted. Has anybody else had any similar situation?

I was just napping on a float in my pool when i heard the dreaded blower next door. i have asked my neighbor to let me know when Moisquitto Squad is coming, that only happened once.

i have been in my pool about 8 times when they‘ve come. i can see the cloud come over my fence. Today i saw debris from their flowers blow over with the spray. if i knew they were coming i could at least get out of the pool and go in the house!

Her kids toys are all over their yard, along with a blow up pool that gets sprayed repeatedly. Her young son 5, has allergys and hacks all the time. i feel so bad for him, i feel as though her ignorance is sacraficing his health. i have autoimmune thyroid disease and psoriasis and i eat grassfed and as clean as i can to have less impact on my health. i sure dont need pesticides, in my air or in my pool.

There should be better laws to protect us, like maybe they should have to let immediate neighors know when these products are going to be applied! its not just affecting them!

I agree with you as we are having the same problem with neighbors. So frustrating and dangerous for people,pets,and wildlife.

we are having a huge issue with mosquito buzz spraying properties on our Haliburton lake. Just on our small bay we have about 10 properties being sprayed on a 2 week basis. I have witnessed them spraying down towards the water and also have not maintained the law required 10m from water source. I have sent a complaint to the MNR, Health Canada and local bylaw officers. My neighbours do not care even when presented with facts about what damage this spray is doing as opposed to the perceived benefits. I have a cat (indoors) but since I do not know when they are spraying until I hear that dreaded backpack leaf blower. I am hoping to appeal to our lake association and other groups in our county to try and get this stuff banned from lake side use. It is disturbing that the companies lie about the detrimental affects of the spray and tout that it is natural when in fact they are all synthesized versions of the original plant derivative. When someone calls you and says don't let your grandkids play in the water as we are spraying I would think that would give you an indication that what you are doing is wrong. If anyone here has a contact name of an expert or someone who can help present the facts I would be grateful.

@Debbie Gabura, You need to call the Minister of the Environment. There are strict rules about applying this stuff and if the company is breaking any of them the MOE will warn them. Mosquitobuzz.com has a policy that if neighbours complain enough they will cut and run. They know this stuff is not the gentle flower-based product they claim to neighbours. We filmed them spray directly into our yard, I wrote an email detailing that they had sprayed me bodily when I was trying to get them to stop (five years later I have possible thyroid cancer and am waiting for surgery) and they sprayed on windy days allowing the product to waft into our windows. If they are doing those things you have a good case. Get video of it if you can (safely from a window inside.) The rules the MOE told me about are: they cannot spray on windy days, they cannot spray in the presence of humans, they must wear masks and protective clothing when spraying, they have to post a sign after spraying. They are also not supposed to spray anywhere near water sources since this stuff kills fish. It also kills bees and other pollinators. And cats - it is toxic to cats. Don't let your cats outside to eat grass that has been sprayed - one of ours developed a tumour in his stomach and had to be put down. This stuff is not supposed to be sprayed around children because it can seriously harm them. The company is in my opinion seriously evil for telling all of us it is an "all natural product made from crushed flowers." Crysanthemums are toxic to cats. Every product on Earth is "all natural" Agent Orange is 'all natural' that does not mean it isn't harmful. Please take care of yourself and stay away from this stuff. Ask the MOE to give you the product sheet on it. If you get sprayed, remove your clothing and put it in a ziplock - that is evidence in case you want to take things further legally. (I didn't know that until later). The good news is that if you complain enough the MOE will call them and they will stop spraying. OUr neighbours hired a different company the next year, and we took video of the guy spraying without a mask and the MOE shut them down. Our neighbours did not get a refund for that so they stopped hiring them. Thank goodness. OUr woods and animals and water sources are the better for it. The bees and monarchs are still few and far between though. Good luck and reach out if you have more questions. I have a fact sheet somewhere...Also - the company will tell you they have switched to a garlic spray (or it has been a garlic spray all along) after you complain. Garlic is also toxic to cats.

@anitawebb5658, @HU-925597522,@Julia Kress: see above. Hitting you all up so the things that happened to us stop happening to you. It is my big beef these days.

@User thank you for all this information. I will call MOE and lodge a complaint. I have video of the person spraying being right down at the waters edge. I was standing in our neighbours front yard trying to videotape 2 doors down the guy was spraying right at the waters edge and towards the water. Then he turned and sprayed the trees towards me and I could smell it and it made me cough so I know it was drifting that far at least. Fortunately my cat is an inside cat but I go around and shut the windows on whatever side of the house which neighbour is spraying on. And its ridiculous that they allow these young (high school or early college) workers spray this stuff all day. I wasn't aware that the MOE would respond and shut them down. Good to know!

@Debbie Gabura Yes, the MOE will at least warn them. If they are spraying the water that is bad. You should make sure you tell them they are spraying when humans (you) are present and that it got in your throat. That is exactly what was happening with us. Good luck!

O My issue is that my neighbor has the mosquito spray done once a month and this guy sprays it into my holly trees that don’t even hang over into their property, but are up close to the property line. I have asked him each time to cease from doing that, and he just yells and screams at me and tells me that he doesn’t do it all the while I have him on the ring camera clearly doing it, as well as him giving his new employee instruction to spray them! I’m going to contact my local code enforcer and see if I have any rights and if they can take action against this guy. This guy told me that he had difficulty breathing before he started this business and now his lungs alveoli’s won’t close anymore - he said he couldn’t breathe well until he started breathing this stuff, that’s how ignorant this man is – he’s actually happy that his lungs aren’t functioning properly anymore. Clearly, I can’t stop him from spraying my neighbors yard but surely I have some rights somehow that he can’t spray my property that is in no way hanging over into my neighbors’ yard. I actually caught him one day unloading an used canister into one of my trees for minutes to empty it. Any suggestions?

You made a responsible choice by trying the organic spray, even if it didn't yield the expected results. In a situation where you can't control your neighbor's actions, focusing on personal protective measures is key. You can consider using mosquito nets, natural repellents, and maintaining screen doors and windows to create a safer environment for your family.