What are they Spraying over Lakeland FL.

Hey guys I don't know if im posting this in the right section or not, so mods please move if need be. For the last couple days a Two-tone light gray and dark gray. jet ranger helicopter has been spraying something over our city. He has been flying real low and fast....low enough to see his tail # clearly but to fast where I couldn't write it down. He is spraying in a grid like pattern usually from east to west. His altitude is im guessing 200 feet AGL, give or take a little. If I see him again I'll try to get his tail # so we can look it up. I havent ever seen them spray and I've been living here 28 years. Does anyone know what they might be spraying?

[edit on 12/26/2009 by lspilot6946]

reply to post by lspilot6946


I'm surprised there hasn't been anything mentioned in your nightly news broadcasts?


Many years ago (In LA....the San Fernando Valley, actully) it was publicly announced ahead of time, the spraying of "malathion" (for mosquitos, as I recall).

Others here on ATS have simlar memories, even so much as a ground-based vehicle doing the spraying...again, for mosquitos.

Given you're in Florida? Any infestations lately? Crop pests, mosquitos, etc? (Alligators? Kidding....)

"Bedbugs" seem to be in the news lately, not sure if that's related....

Oh, well they already came by earlier with the trucks.

As they were spraying something off of the helicopter.

There has not been anything in the news or paper in the past days about the spraying

Heavy rains = lots of sitting water. Thats when they kick in the full on mosquito contol.

Yea thats what I'm thinking. But you know how we are on ATS...everything is a conspiracy.

I agree with the others and mosquito spray sounds like most likely candidate, although the high speed doesn't make sense?

Call City Hall, or the Police Department. They should have an explanation. Call a news channel if you don't get anywhere with the authorities.

reply to post by lspilot6946


In lieu of mod tags, I'm just going to state that I'm bowing out of moderating this thread, K? Good.

The speed of the helicopters is what caught my attention. Did you actually see an aerosol of some kind being sprayed? Reason I ask, is that the last two years here, a small, dynamic plane of some sort has done grid runs over this wee island, and they're dropping pellets of microbial insecticide -- organisms that target specifically mosquito cycles.

There are specific requirements for identification of Aerial Applicators in the State of Florida.

EDIS discusses some of the compounds that are commonly sprayed.

Down here, they didn't tell us (or I didn't hear) that we were going to be bombed with lil' pellets. I was working outside, and heard a small plane making what sounded like long runs, with an accelerated droning when it banked sharply. Next thing I knew, here was this lil' short-wing plane running just above the treeline maybe 50-100 feet, and I was being pelted by......... pellets! This is not a good thing for a terminal conspiracy theorist. If I'd have had a bunker, I'd have dived into it.

You might be able to call FMEL - the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory and get more precise information as to what's being sprayed and why.

Really ticks me off that these things are done without an intensive information process beforehand. Seems like it happens, though, and there's frequently a radio station or newspaper blurb that is referenced when it becomes an issue; my opinion -- I don't believe the entities that spray/drop these compounds generally make any more than the minimum legal notification necessary. I could be wrong about that. I'd love to be wrong about that.

Oh ya, we actually seen the aerosol being sprayed out. Kinda looked like smoke but I know it wasn't. But he was flying at a pretty good clip. And I believe he was a little lower then 200. I didnt feel or hear any type of pellets being dropped, but also by the time I got outside he was done flying directly over me and going back the other direction.

reply to post by argentus


LOL! I am not a hardcore CT, just a dabbler, and that would probably have sent me bunker diving as well!!

That little plane is lucky it didn't take counter-fire.

I live on the Florida/Georgia line, around here folks will shoot at just about anything that they haven't seen before!

My guess would be spraying for skeeters as backed up by....

Aerial Mosquito Spraying Schedule for the Week of August 9th

They may not have gotten around to updating the website for their most current schedule.. that's goverm't at work for you.

For what its worth - I've not seen them spraying anything just down the road from you in Plant City..


Edit - If you go to the link above look for Bid 07-072 and Bid 08-121-MWC. For some reason they show up in search for me but I cant open them. Anyway, they appear to be for Polk County looking for a used chopper for mosquito control


[edit on 2-9-2010 by Frogs]

[edit on 2-9-2010 by Frogs]

reply to post by getreadyalready


no kidding, huh? No wonder we're just allowed machetes. The pellets didn't hurt, of course, but they were a thick and visible mass and it was the NOISE of them falling that really scared the crap out of me.

I was on the phone right away, of course, and after about an hour of the phone shuffle game, I was informed that the pellets are intended to fall in rockholes and/or containers that have standing water, and that they dissolve and release "critters" (yes, I snickered at the dumbing down of the answer) to mitigate mosquito cycles.

Myself, I spray a concentration of dishwashing liquid -- 1 tbs./gallon on standing water, which decreases the surface tension and causes female mosquitos to fall in and drown, rather than being able to stand on the water and drop eggs. That, plus bat boxes, prolific frogs and spiders and several Neem Trees makes right around our house fairly 'skeeter-free.

Spraying for mosquitoes. Seeing how in South Florida there has been outbreaks of Dengue fever.

There have been cases of Dengue Fever in Florida. Mosquitos are the
culprit. If this is the case, this is being done in your best interest.
I would recommend that you close your windows, turn off fans, AC Units,
etc. for a couple hours to let the dust settle so to speak.
Dengue Fever is an incurable nasty and sometimes deadly Infection.
I would consider the minor inconveniences mentioned above a balanced
trade off to the alternative of infection.

This goes for malaria and God else knows what.

I should mention that this could be crop dusting or something else entirely,
but if it is Dengue Fever, The Center for Disease control would most likely
be more concerned with combating it rather than creating a public uproar.

Originally posted by Wildmanimal
There have been cases of Dengue Fever in Florida. Mosquitos are the
culprit. If this is the case, this is being done in your best interest.
I would recommend that you close your windows, turn off fans, AC Units,
etc. for a couple hours to let the dust settle so to speak.
Dengue Fever is an incurable nasty and sometimes deadly Infection.
I would consider the minor inconveniences mentioned above a balanced
trade off to the alternative of infection.

This goes for malaria and God else knows what.

I should mention that this could be crop dusting or something else entirely,
but if it is Dengue Fever, The Center for Disease control would most likely
be more concerned with combating it rather than creating a public uproar.

That's right. You can only catch aids-the virus that causes death-by having sex. Mosquitoes have a special enzyme that destroys the virus.

Its mosquito control. There was an outbreak of equine encephalitis, which resulted in the death of a child in the Brandon area. The state is taking a bunch of heat over it because they had apparently cut back on spraying this year to save on money, and it's proving to be one of the worst years we have ever had for mosquitoes. Now they are playing catch-up to try and kill them off.
www.baynews9.com...

BRANDON --
A Brandon-area infant has died of mosquito-borne Eastern equine encephalitis.
According to the Hillsborough County Health Department, tests confirmed the child died from the virus.
It is the second Eastern equine encephalitis-related death in the county this month. A woman in Lutz died of the disease on July 1. The department said that was the first death from a mosquito-born disease since 2008.
The health department is reminding people to avoid being outside at dusk and dawn, wear clothing that covers most of their skin and to use mosquito repellant.
"What people really need to do to protect themselves is to avoid being bit by mosquitoes in the first place," Steve Huard, with the Hillsborough Health Dept.
Huard said the last two cases are the first they've had in Hillsborough County in years.
"We want the community to understand there is a risk associated with being outside after dark right now and we need to take every precaution to mitigate that risk and protect our children and families," he said.

reply to post by lspilot6946
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Like a few people have said, its probably just for the skeeters. They've had the trucks doing it all over East Lakeland and Auburndale lately.

Palm Beach county has had some problems with medflies recently (bad for citrus) and I just heard on the radio today there were two new infestations in X and Y counties....but I became distracted and now I can't find the info.

Orange groves up there?

Its either the fruit fly or the mosquitos.

Probably mosquitos though,

I rememeber back in 1997 they had a big campaign in Tampa/St pete for the fruit fly. Had to stay in doors because of the poison and it messed up a buch of cars,

Ya I figure its for mosquito or fruit flies. I remember back about 10 years ago they were spraying with DC-3's over us for the fruit flies.

Here in south Florida they are alerting us that they're about to spray using Huey helicopters. Not sure if this is what's happening up by you OP but I wouldn't rule it out.


Aerial spraying for mosquitoes to start on Thursday
Mosquito control urges residents to drain standing water
September 02, 2010|By Cheryl Amico, Sun Sentinel

The Palm Beach County Division of Mosquito Control will conduct aerial spraying for mosquitoes in the western communities starting at sundown on Thursday.
articles.sun-sentinel.com...