Fogging,
aerosol, mosquito nets,vaporiser, citronella candles, lemongrass, pandan
leaves, ultrasonic devices, lotions, window screens – and the list goes on.
Here’s one
hard truth: There is no silver bullet for mosquito control. If there
were to be one, WHO, CDC, MOH, NEA and other organisations would have signed on
to that silver bullet and deregister everything else off their lists. There
would be no need for shops to stock more than 10 products for mosquitoes and
our houses, bathroom cabinets and even our handbags would need only one product
ready on standby.
There is a
myriad of mosquito products or solutions available out there because different scenarios
require different mosquito products or solutions.
What about
enjoying the outdoors? Being surrounded by flora and fauna?
Should our
pursuit for comfort in outdoors trump over preserving nature as how it is?
There is a
lot argument for and against applying pesticides in our backyards and parks. Here
is why this is one scenario where using repellents is the best way forward when
it comes to outdoor activities.
1. It still protects us from disease-carrying
biting insects
Let’s face
it. The risk of dengue out there is too real to ignore. Nobody likes being
bitten by mosquitoes and other blood suckers.
Both
repellents and pesticides certainly help by removing biting insects from our
immediate surroundings. However, when we are outdoors where nature is teeming
with flowers, trees, plants, animals and insects, it is always better to opt
for repellents instead of pesticides.
Just make
sure you apply repellents correctly. We have a good guide on repellents here.
2. We don’t kill beneficial insects
Bees,
butterflies, beetles, wasps – there are so many types of beneficial insects. We
need these beneficial insects to pollinate our plants, decompose organic waste,
recycle nutrients, prey on other insects and maintain balance in local
ecosystem.
When we
spray pesticides in nature just to get rid of mosquitoes, we actually kill many
good ones as well. Sometimes, we even end up killing only the beneficial
insects while some mosquitoes escape unscathed because in nature, the
beneficial insects do not build up tolerance against pesticides as much as mosquitoes
do.
By using
repellents in our outdoor activities, we repel both good and bad insects away from
us but without unintentionally killing the beneficial ones.
3. We avoid introducing pesticides into the
nature
When we are
outdoors, we are putting ourselves in nature’s place, not putting nature in our
place. Subjecting other inhabitants of nature to pesticides just because of one
insect is akin to visiting somebody else’s house and spraying your perfume all
over.
The story
doesn’t end there after pesticides are applied in natural environment.
Depending on the type of pesticides, the residues can linger, waiting to be
picked up by unsuspecting non-target insects and animals. Or a rainfall can run
off the residues into the soil where beneficial soil organisms such as
earthworm may be affected, or into groundwater and rivers.
With this
in mind, we should savour nature in its entirety. Let’s choose repellents and enjoy our backyards and parks without subjecting the nature to
pesticides.
© Jo-Lynn
Teh, BCE
Jo-Lynn
Teh is ESA Board Certified Entomologist based in Singapore. While her
specialisation is on tropical insects that affect public health and
agriculture, Jo-Lynn’s passion is also to help people understand insects. Find
her on LinkedIn.
***
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meta description: Have backyard? Going to parks? Before you start packing
aerosol into your picnic basket, consider using repellents instead. Read on
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