Mosquito Spray Pilots?

[CFI A&P]

When I was growing up in South Florida, these big tanker trucks would go through the neighborhoods pumping out a pretty thick layer of fog for mosquito control.

In that era of drinking from the garden hose without a bike helmet, my parents answer to my concern was "ahh, just come indoors for 10 minutes".

Maybe they were right. No daim bramage that I can detect.

Richman

I remember those days too. "Game Off!" Wait a few minutes then resume play.


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[NickH]

When I was growing up in South Florida, these big tanker trucks would go through the neighborhoods pumping out a pretty thick layer of fog for mosquito control.

In that era of drinking from the garden hose without a bike helmet, my parents answer to my concern was "ahh, just come indoors for 10 minutes".

Maybe they were right. No daim bramage that I can detect.

Richman

It depends what they were pumping. DDT was used almost exclusively in the 50s and 60s, and the good news is that, while carcinogenic, it's not a neurotoxin, so no brain damage. Of course, DDT was banned because reasons, so if you followed a truck from the 1970s onward you're lucky if you can still math.

 

[Richman]

This and mechanical refrigeration (aka air conditioning) are pretty much the only reasons Florida is habitable.

A statue of John Gorrie, "the father of air conditioning" is one of two from Florida in the US Capitol.

Richman

 

[ctab5060X]

This and mechanical refrigeration (aka air conditioning) are pretty much the only reasons Florida is habitable.

A statue of John Gorrie, "the father of air conditioning" is one of two from Florida in the US Capitol.

Richman

Don't forget mesh window screens...

 

[srn121]

@srn121

Now that I have more than a few minutes to reply, I'll try and address your questions.

As far as health concerns, yes and no. You always have concerns any time you are dealing with any job that has a close proximity to any chemical. That being said, the vast majority of the chemicals we used were of a type that you could pretty much bathe in, yet see no ill effects... ever. We did use a few that required a fair amount of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), but we knew the dangers and took every precaution when dealing with any chemical. We developed our dispersal systems with not only efficiency for spraying in mind, but also the safety of the flight and ground crews. We ended up also developing and using a completely closed system to load the airplanes that further reduced any exposure risk.

As far as the pay and schedule, this is not a job where you have a set schedule or pay. There is a vast diversity in the mosquito control community between operations. Some are city programs where others are county wide programs. Some cities and counties have full IPM (Insect Pest Management) programs that include the surveillance and the control, both ground and aerial. Lee County, FL is a great example of that kind of program. Others have an IPM programs that includes surveillance and a ground programs, yet contract out aerial services to private corporations. Still other locations choose to outsource the entire control program to a private corporation. I worked for one of the smaller privately owned corporations, so the pay was on the lower end and there was no schedule except work during the peak part of the season. As the aerial job is highly weather dependent and the chemicals must be dispersed not only in the right atmospheric conditions, but also the right time period for the targeted species, you can either be go, go, go or sitting around and waiting. There were times we sat around until we scrubbed the flights, and there were other times we worked every night for weeks on end. I've personally seen nearly 4 straight weeks of work without a day off, days where I've been up all day, only to fly all night as well. I've seen the first light of dawn from low altitude more times than I care to count.

The job is hot, tiring, dangerous, and thankless. It is not for the light hearted and I have seen pilots with thousands of hours not be able to handle the work environment.

Thank you for all the information, ctab. I really appreciate how in depth and knowledgeable you are on it. I'm curious about jobs in northern parts of the country where the flying would likely only be seasonal.