For Immediate Release:

Friday, September 23, 2016

Sept 23, 2016
Zika and Garlic.
Climate change is causing variations in the behavior of pests, and the mosquito is one example. As weather temps increase in places that normally do not have such temperatures, mosquitoes ranges have spread. Combine this with humans that are either sick or weak, as well as animals, and then you throw in human’s use of pesticides, and you have a ready-made disaster.
Climate change is already a man-made disaster, and we are making it worse by ignoring and then reacting out of fear. Climate change will expand the ranges of many pests for many reasons, but the number one reason they can develop in the first place is that they no longer have the natural predators that control them. We have eliminated them either by hunting, eating, or simply killing for profit. Humans are becoming weaker and weaker and more vulnerable to these types of pest attacks. Then to make matters worse (we are good at that) we spray with a pesticide. The pesticide used in Miami is called Naled. This pesticide is banned in the European Union since 2012. The Governor of Puerto Rico is refusing to use it also.
Why? The concern is simple: It poses a possible human risk to health, as well as being toxic to wildlife. It killed millions of bees when used in South Carolina in August of this year, and that is not even including any of wildlife or insects that just happened to be in the area where the spraying was being done.
Naled targets an enzyme by inhibiting it from being produced by the mosquitoes. This enzyme controls nerve signals to the mosquito’s brain. Naled can be a problem if humans are exposed since it also targets the same enzyme in humans, and can cause a variety of conditions. It is important to note that if the dosage is not correct, it will increase the chance that the person will be adversely affected, such as confusion, dizziness, convulsions, respiratory failure and even death. There is no mention of what it does to your pets, but I believe there is no reason why they too would not be affected in the same manner. It also can affect various aquatic life as well if it goes into the water.
While I understand the governments need to protect the public, their methods leave much to be desired. If they wanted to provide a safe way of controlling the Zika virus, there already is a simple yet safe way of killing mosquitoes.
I wish to point out that if just one mosquito survives the Naled spraying, its children will more than likely inherit that survival trait and then when they come into connecting with Naled, it will not bother them at all! This is a fact, and they should know that.
So maybe money may have something to do with this?
As I mentioned before, there has always been a simple solution to killing mosquitoes (besides allowing their natural predators to survive and do their job), and that is garlic. Garlic will kill mosquitoes on contact, and they will not be able to develop immunity.
Sure garlic, well, garlic smells like garlic. That is a minor inconvenience that will go away within a few hours. Anyone can use garlic around their homes; farmers can use garlic in their fields, and the Cities (such as Miami and Puerto Rico) can spray all they want. It will not kill bees and other predators, insects, nor will it kill birds and bats. It will not harm your pets, yourself or your children. Did I mention that children and pets are most at risk to develop problems down the road as they get older?
Folks can make their own garlic spray or simply use a garlic concentrate. One product that has been on the market for ages is called Mosquito Barrier. This is a super-concentrated garlic brew. One gallon contains over 100 garlic bulbs specially brewed. That is all that it has in the ingredients. One cup in a of a gallon of water will kill any mosquito it comes in contact with as well as repel for hours.
So my question is why not use it? Why not tell folks about it so they can protect themselves?
Did you know that you can protect yourself by simply cutting a garlic clove in half and placing each into your shoes? Sure, you might lose or gain some friends (depending on wether they too are using the garlic or not) but the mosquitoes will not find you to bite you. If the mosquito cannot smell you out, it will not bite you. Humans like all animals give off a certain odor as well as carbon dioxide. Mosquito uses both, but they need that particular odor given off by humans, especially if you are a meat eater.
Garlic can be sprayed on any standing water, and it will also kill the larvae. A dog (especially if it likes garlic) or cat will have no problem drinking from it.
I even suggest that you help these animals out by either giving them garlic in their food, or by rubbing a garlic glove on their coat. You can even add a small amount of the liquid garlic into the wash (add before rinse). You can carry a small spray bottle with the garlic in water, and mist an area. I have made many misting systems which regularly mist the garlic spraying around houses, horses (kills flys), barns (kills fleas, ticks), back yards, etc.
By the way, I haven’t seen any vampires in a long time either!
Any questions? Email me andylopez@invisiblegardener.com
Andy Lopez
Invisible Gardener