I really thank you for explaining that Maxina’s quotes in the SFStreets blog post weren’t quite right. This happens very often in print media, and I have a much clearer sense now of what she must have meant when speaking to the reporter.

You have done everyone who reads this article a tremendous favor in explaining that:

1) The traps themselves contain fumes and pesticides that are harmful to humans.

2) The presence of traps means the contemplation of a so-called ‘eradication’ program (read: massive pesticide spraying) in that area.

3) Traps are a totally worthless way of judging whether an insect damages anything. It only judges whether it is there, but is used as proof that pesticides must be sprayed, even in the total absence of damage, as in the case of the LBAM scandal.

4) Citizens are noticing these traps all over the place, often near organic gardens or the residences of especially sensitive people like elders.

I truly, truly thank you for sharing all of your knowledge with us, Isis. We feel that Don’t Spray California is the most informed of all the pesticide education organizations in California and we are so grateful for your research and work.

Take care!
Mim

We here at East Bay Pesticide Alert / Don’t Spray California don’t view Berkeley Code Enforcement as involved in some LBAM-related conspiracy with the State, as seemed to be implied in the otherwise excellent SFStreets Blog Post, but instead recognize that urban gardens are under attack from more than one agency.

It is noteworthy that while Berkeley’s bureaucracy is harassing Asa and other activists in the area, a great variety of traps are going up around town for various so-called “pests”. These traps are placed mostly by the county, often under state and federal order. Whether they are placed deliberately or just carelessly, we’ve noticed that these traps often go up around organic gardens, as well as around vulnerable populations (in Oakland several have been observed around senior housing and community centers).

So what’s wrong with insect traps?

Many of them contain chemical lures which are specifically designed to saturate the area near the traps with the chemical vapors, so that insects are attracted to them. Passers-by are exposed to these fumes as well, and many traps are hung quite low and in easy reach of children. These chemicals are often pesticides themselves, but because of bureaucratic loopholes they are being categorized as pesticides only if they are used as part of an “eradication” or “control” program, but not if they are used as part of a “monitoring” program, even though the chemical is in fact the same.

In the white, tent-shaped traps for LBAM the lure contains the same synthetic “pheromone” as is in the aerial spray and the twist ties, both of which have injured people. The green, tent-shaped traps are for gypsy moth and contain another so-called “pheromone”, disparlure, which has been shown to persist in the human body for many years, and has been largely untested for safety. Other common traps observed around the Bay Area include those for glassy-winged sharpshooter, Japanese beetle, emerald ash borer, and various fruit flies.

Aside from the toxicity of many of these traps, there are even larger implications with all of them, whether they contain toxics themselves or not: Where traps are placed it is inevitable that certain insects, which these government agencies have determined are “dangerous pests”, are caught. When this happens, quarantines may be put in place, causing economic hardship for many, and are usually followed by mandatory pesticide applications, causing injury to health for many more. In essence, traps target neighborhoods with potential pesticide applications.

But traps do not determine whether an insect is causing any trouble, and neither do the arbitrary decisions of these government agencies, as we’ve clearly seen with the LBAM most recently. Trap finds determine whether a particular insect is present in the environment, but not whether the insect is doing any damage, likely to do any damage in the future, or whether it is being kept in check by the local ecology. Trap finds are meaningless, but they are being used as an excuse for agencies to implement expensive, invasive, and toxic “control” and “eradication” programs, that do far greater damage to our health and our environment than any insect every could.

What Asa and other urban gardeners are doing matters far beyond their own enjoyment and food source. It shifts the balance from the dominant, water-guzzling, chemically-dependent lawn culture, to one that embraces a non-toxic, useful, and deeply ecological aesthetic. It should also be noted that Asa’s household actively engages with the community, feeds others, and organizes skill shares and work parties to help others grow sustainable and responsible gardens. Truly organic and diverse gardens are some of the best tools in the fight against toxics. They establish healthy and resilient ecosystems that prevent such “pests” from taking over in the first place, and can remediate previous damage done by chemicals and other ecological imbalance.