52 - Responding to irrational and unhinged residents, Lee County, Florida

Abstract: The Lee County Mosquito Control District has seen increasing numbers of angry and threatening residents responding to our routine mosquito control operations in recent years. Nothing significant has changed in our mosquito control procedures over the past 30 years except transitioning aerial adulticiding from thermal fogging to ULV. The source of residential threats and fears seem to originate from misinformation about pesticide safety and/or the safety of our applications via social media, a lack of understanding of basic mosquito control from mostly out-of-state residents, or environmental extremism. Florida statutes protect public health pesticide applicators from open inference and provide for the safety of our employees against threats of physical harm. It is a great idea to have a good working relationship with your local sheriff and police departments. Any disruptions to operations should be dealt with quickly and documented. Allegations of butterfly or bee kills can often be resolved by a district’s education or outreach personnel by directly contacting complainants. This presentation will include examples of unhinged residents and repeat complainers and the actions we took to document and resolve these conflicts.