Re: Gypsy moth - the issue of the season

**K* M* <k*@iol.ie>**

I'd like to throw in a word of caution about the wholesale use of  
various strains of Bt. Whilst it certainly appears, from numerous  
studies down the years, that the ingestion of Bacillus Thuringiensis  
is safe for mammals and birds, being well dealt with by the digestive  
system, it is non-target specific and will therefore kill off a wide  
range of other insects, including beneficials. It is also not  
established that it is non-toxic to aquatic life.

And while it appears to be safe for us to eat it the same cannot be  
said of breathing it. It has frequently caused illness amongst field  
workers using it in different parts of the world. Unless the  
mammalian population is going to be issued with breathing masks  
whilst it is in aerosol form this stuff is going to cause a lot of  
short term lung problems and maybe some long term ones. I'm sorry I  
can't lay my hands on the citations quickly - unfortunately the need  
for the GM industry to sell it as safe has led to the net being  
swamped with pro-Bt propaganda.

And mass spraying will also increase the speed at which resistant  
strains of Gypsy Moth develop - a phenomenon already being seen in  
species such as the boll weevil. In the long run the only safe  
controls are physical barriers - not easy for a species with wings -  
and the breeding of predators.

I  don't have any good solutions to this problem I'm afraid. When a  
pest gets moved from one continent to another the result is nearly  
always an ecological mess of one kind or another. I'm still in  
mourning for my elm trees.

Kathryn

On 28 Mar 2008, at 03:44, Bruce Zimmerman wrote:
> Dear List,
> Bt has many different strains but they are all registered  
> Pesticides. Bt can
> be sprayed on vegetables and many other plants. It is safe for birds &
> mammals. Btk is the most excepted strain now. It is used on  
> European Gypsy
> Moth.There are other controls.  The fact that they spread or as  
> some people
> say move on does not diminish their numbers. They just continue to  
> feed and
> breed. There are traps for their control as well. The following is  
> what I
> have just finished writing for www.rittenhouse.ca  It seems that I  
> have been
> edited as well. I will see what happened to the rest of this  
> article and if
> necessary I will post it here.
>
>
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