Ep. 563 - The Harmful Consequences of Mosquito Sprays
In Defense of Plants Podcast
In Defense of Plants
4.8 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 1 February 2026
⏱️ 56 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Mosquito sprays and fogs only kill mosquitos, right? Wrong! The kinds of pesticides used to control mosquito populations are lethal to all manner of insects and other invertebrates. The use of these chemicals can have serious impacts on biodiversity and their marketing doesn't tell this side of the story. Join me and Dr. Aaron Anderson of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation as we look at the science of these pesticides and what you can do in your yard and in your community to improve conditions for insect diversity. This episode was produced in part by Neil, Matthew, April, Dana, Lilith, Sanza, Eva, Yellowroot, Wisewren, Nadia, Heidi, Blake, Josh, Laure, R.J., Carly, Lucia, Dana, Sarah, Lauren, Strych Mind, Linda, Sylvan, Austin, Sarah, Ethan, Elle, Steve, Cassie, Chuck, Aaron, Gillian, Abi, Rich, Shad, Maddie, Owen, Linda, Alana, Sigma, Max, Richard, Maia, Rens, David, Robert, Thomas, Valerie, Joan, Mohsin Kazmi Photography, Cathy, Simon, Nick, Paul, Charis, EJ, Laura, Sung, NOK, Stephen, Heidi, Kristin, Luke, Sea, Shannon, Thomas, Will, Jamie, Waverly, Brent, Tanner, Rick, Kazys, Dorothy, Katherine, Emily, Theo, Nichole, Paul, Karen, Randi, Caelan, Tom, Don, Susan, Corbin, Keena, Robin, Peter, Whitney, Kenned, Margaret, Daniel, Karen, David, Earl, Jocelyn, Gary, Krysta, Elizabeth, Southern California Carnivorous Plant Enthusiasts, Pattypollinators, Peter, Judson, Ella, Alex, Dan, Pamela, Peter, Andrea, Nathan, Karyn, Michelle, Jillian, Chellie, Linda, Laura, Miz Holly, Christie, Carlos, Paleo Fern, Levi, Sylvia, Lanny, Ben, Lily, Craig, Sarah, Lor, Monika, Brandon, Jeremy, Suzanne, Kristina, Christine, Silas, Michael, Aristia, Felicidad, Lauren, Danielle, Allie, Jeffrey, Amanda, Tommy, Marcel, C Leigh, Karma, Shelby, Christopher, Alvin, Arek, Chellie, Dani, Paul, Dani, Tara, Elly, Colleen, Natalie, Nathan, Ario, Laura, Cari, Margaret, Mary, Connor, Nathan, Jan, Jerome, Brian, Azomonas, Ellie, University Greens, Joseph, Melody, Patricia, Matthew, Garrett, John, Ashley, Cathrine, Melvin, OrangeJulian, Porter, Jules, Griff, Joan, Megan, Marabeth, Les, Ali, Southside Plants, Keiko, Robert, Bryce, Wilma, Amanda, Helen, Mikey, Michelle, German, Joerg, Cathy, Tate, Steve, Kae, Carole, Mr. Keith Santner, Lynn, Aaron, Sara, Kenned, Brett, Jocelyn, Ethan, Sheryl, Runaway Goldfish, Ryan, Chris, Alana, Rachel, Joanna, Lori, Paul, Griff, Matthew, Bobby, Vaibhav, Steven, Joseph, Brandon, Liam, Hall, Jared, Brandon, Christina, Carly, Kazys, Stephen, Katherine, Manny, doeg, Daniel, Tim, Philip, Tim, Lisa, Brodie, Bendix, Irene, holly, Sara, and Margie.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Conversations like you're about to hear do not happen unless you support In Defensive Plants. |
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| 0:21.0 | It explores a lot of really fun gardening topics, everything from seed collection and storage |
| 0:25.2 | to growing native plants, the struggles of trying to garden in different climates, and so much |
| 0:30.2 | more. It's a heck of a lot of fun. We're learning so much, and we're trying to share that with you. |
| 0:34.5 | So come on and join the Patreon over at patreon.com slash indefensive plants and help keep this show up and running in the process. I hope to see you over there. But in the meantime, on with the show. Hello everyone and welcome to the Indefensive Plants podcast, the official podcast of Inefensiveplants.com. What's up? This is your husband. Welcome to the show. How is everyone doing this week? Listen up. This is a really |
| 0:56.3 | important episode. We are talking today about pesticides, specifically those targeting mosquitoes. |
| 1:02.1 | And targeting is the wrong word to use here because what can be sold as very specific |
| 1:06.3 | types of pesticides to remove pests like mosquitoes from your yard are actually hurting so much more than just |
| 1:12.0 | mosquitoes. Now, throughout this episode, we are not downplaying the negative effects that |
| 1:16.6 | mosquitoes can have on the human population worldwide. We understand that mosquitoes are |
| 1:21.4 | important disease vectors, and this is a very big topic that can't be covered on a plant podcast. |
| 1:26.8 | But it is important to know what kind of |
| 1:28.1 | impact we're having on our local ecosystem when we try to control these things. Joining us to talk |
| 1:33.1 | about this is Dr. Aaron Anderson from the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. And he |
| 1:38.4 | and his colleagues have done really important work looking at the impact of mosquito fogging in |
| 1:42.7 | particular in suburban and urban neighborhoods. |
| 1:45.5 | And what this means for other insects like pollinators, butterflies, you name it. It's sobering, |
| 1:50.8 | but it's a really important conversation to have and stick around and listen to this episode |
| 1:55.1 | in its entirety because there's a lot of actionable items in here and a lot of great resources |
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