Seattle Press on Line - Pesticide Sprayed on Crown Hill Neighborhood

Pesticide Sprayed on Crown Hill Neighborhood

By Sara Longley

Anastasia Retelas, dismayed as workers spray her organic garden. Sara Longley photo.

May 23, 2002 -- The gypsy moths are coming, and they're going to take over the neighborhood. That's what the Washington State Department of Agriculture said when it discovered two European Gypsy Moth egg masses in a small area of Crown Hill last fall (see "Caught in the Gypsy Moth Trap," March 28 issue). For many residents of Crown Hill, it appeared the real invader was the WSDA, as it began spraying pesticide this month to eradicate the potential moth infestation.

The residents of the area between NW 80th and 83rd Streets and Eighth and 10th Avenues NW were initially told that the spray was harmless to humans, but if they wanted to have their houses left alone during the spraying they could fill out cards and let the WSDA know. However, when more than a third of the affected households turned in the cards, the WSDA went to court and obtained a warrant to spray them after all.

The first day of spraying came on May 8, and protesters came out to monitor the operation and make their voices heard. Washington Tree Service conducted the spraying, with Agriculture Department honchos looking on. According to Nancy Morris of the group No Spray Zone, the court-issued warrants allowed the spraying to be done but did not allow the workers to move anything on the properties. When they got to the house of Anastasia Retalas, they removed the plastic sheeting she had carefully placed over her organic garden, and proceeded to spray the plants.

A worker sprays the dense foliage at Anastasia Retelas' house. Sara Longley photo.

According to the WSDA's own documentation on the European Gypsy Moth, the insects prefer to eat the foliage of deciduous trees and shrubs. They do not eat garden plants, and unlike their Asian Gypsy Moth cousins they do not eat evergreen trees. Video shot by Michael Christopherson of No Spray Zone clearly shows spray being applied to gardens, conifers, and houses. The sprayers also lacked proper equipment to reach the tops of the tall deciduous trees in the neighborhood. "Remember when you were a kid, and you would sort of fling the garden hose to make the spray reach farther?" said Christopherson. "Well, that's what they were doing to try and reach the tops of the trees. Their spray hoses only have a range of 35 feet, and they were trying to spray 70-foot-plus trees."

Because of the sloppiness of the spray operation, a complaint has been filed with the Washington Department of Ecology.

Meanwhile, Christopherson added, the spray drifted through the neighborhood, landing on houses that were not within the spray zone and on passersby. "If they took as much time and effort to spray the trees as they did with spraying Anastasia's garden, they might have gotten all the moths," he said.

Another round of spraying took place on May 16, and the third and last pesticide application will probably take place within two weeks.

For more information about the WSDA's Gypsy Moth eradication program visit www.wa.gov/agr/gypsy.htm. For more information about No Spray Zone, visit www.nosprayzone.org.

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