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NYC back in early 2000's had a West Nile Virus scare so gov did extensive aerial spraying of pesticides for many months ... that was the end of mosquitoes... g

NYC back in early 2000's had a West Nile Virus scare so gov did extensive aerial spraying of pesticides for many months ... that was the end of mosquitoes... gov publicized the nighttime spraying back then, not today yet the city continues to be mosquito free ... my guess is the pesticides they use has contributed to the abject loss of most insect species not just in the city but in upstate NY as well ... the NYC watershed covers several hundred miles into upstate where insects are simply absent today in comparison to decades ago

deleted 4y ago
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nkozyra 4y ago
Spraying is pretty rampant all across Florida yet the mosquitoes find a way. To your point I don't recall ever being bitten by a mosquito in NYC proper but my parents said it used to be pretty common. I believe I got a few bites on Governors Island once, though.
crmd 4y ago
Story time: I was in Brooklyn at that time and took a large dose of magic mushrooms with a friend one Sunday evening. We thought we heard strange noises outside around 1AM and went to investigate. With the world around us oozing and flowing crazy psychedelic colors, we see what appears to be a military vehicle rolling up the block going about 5 miles an hour. We’re standing there confused when the silence is broken by a loudspeaker on the truck, “Stay inside. Close your windows. Stay inside close your windows”. We drop to the ground, terrified, trying to figure out if we’re hallucinating, as the echos of the command reverberate off the buildings around us. When the truck rolls directly past us we see what’s 20 yards behind it: another army truck with floodlights glaring, flanked by a crew in full hazmat suits with hoses spraying a cloud of something in the air as they pass us walking slowly down the block. Then just silence, and the sinister shadow of the sprayers backlit by floodlights disappearing around the corner onto fifth avenue heading north toward Park Slope. There are no words that describe the psychedelic terror I felt in those moments. We legit thought the world was ending and/or there was an alien invasion, and the military was somehow involved like an X-Files storyline come to life. A few hours later we calm down and are debating whether or not it really happened. And in the morning we see the flyers all over the neighborhood: mosquito spraying Sunday night, “stay inside, close your windows” They forgot to include, “don’t take mushrooms”.
- Gunnerhead 4y ago
  Hahaha, that was a great read, thank you!
forgotmypw17 4y ago
Spraying still happens all the time, it's just not very visible. It's just a large pickup truck with a leaf blower type device attached to a large container of the stuff rolling down the street in Brooklyn in the middle of the night.
hyperpl 4y ago
I live in the East Village and there are certainly mosquitoes that bite me on my patio and ones that come in through my screen door. Upstate even as close as Westchester has them as well and much worse than the city I admit.
prattmic 4y ago
NYC still does nighttime spraying: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/west-nile-virus-spray.page https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/west-nile...

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nkozyra 4y ago

Spraying is pretty rampant all across Florida yet the mosquitoes find a way. To your point I don't recall ever being bitten by a mosquito in NYC proper but my parents said it used to be pretty common. I believe I got a few bites on Governors Island once, though.

crmd 4y ago

Story time: I was in Brooklyn at that time and took a large dose of magic mushrooms with a friend one Sunday evening. We thought we heard strange noises outside around 1AM and went to investigate. With the world around us oozing and flowing crazy psychedelic colors, we see what appears to be a military vehicle rolling up the block going about 5 miles an hour. We’re standing there confused when the silence is broken by a loudspeaker on the truck, “Stay inside. Close your windows. Stay inside close your windows”. We drop to the ground, terrified, trying to figure out if we’re hallucinating, as the echos of the command reverberate off the buildings around us. When the truck rolls directly past us we see what’s 20 yards behind it: another army truck with floodlights glaring, flanked by a crew in full hazmat suits with hoses spraying a cloud of something in the air as they pass us walking slowly down the block. Then just silence, and the sinister shadow of the sprayers backlit by floodlights disappearing around the corner onto fifth avenue heading north toward Park Slope. There are no words that describe the psychedelic terror I felt in those moments. We legit thought the world was ending and/or there was an alien invasion, and the military was somehow involved like an X-Files storyline come to life. A few hours later we calm down and are debating whether or not it really happened. And in the morning we see the flyers all over the neighborhood: mosquito spraying Sunday night, “stay inside, close your windows” They forgot to include, “don’t take mushrooms”.

Gunnerhead 4y ago
Hahaha, that was a great read, thank you!

forgotmypw17 4y ago

Spraying still happens all the time, it's just not very visible. It's just a large pickup truck with a leaf blower type device attached to a large container of the stuff rolling down the street in Brooklyn in the middle of the night.

hyperpl 4y ago

I live in the East Village and there are certainly mosquitoes that bite me on my patio and ones that come in through my screen door. Upstate even as close as Westchester has them as well and much worse than the city I admit.

prattmic 4y ago

NYC still does nighttime spraying: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/west-nile-virus-spray.page https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/west-nile...