Mosquito fogging is a carpet bomb for your local bugs

Mosquito control often wipes out far more than just mosquitoes, and the ecosystem impact is real.

The worst offenders are broad-spectrum insecticides like pyrethroids — the stuff in those backyard foggers and municipal trucks. They don’t discriminate. Honeybees, native bees, butterflies, dragonflies (which eat mosquitoes, by the way), and aquatic insects all get nailed. That means less food for birds, bats, and fish. You might kill the mosquitoes, but you also starve the things that keep other pest populations in check.

The more targeted approach, Bti (a bacterial larvicide dropped in standing water), is much better. It mostly affects mosquito and black fly larvae. But “mostly” isn’t “only.” Some non-biting midges and a few other aquatic insects get hit too, which can ripple up the food chain if applied heavily. Studies show it’s generally safe, but ecosystems are complicated — we don’t fully understand long-term effects on insect diversity.

Then there’s the resistance problem. Overuse of any method