With California’s high cost of housing, many residents, especially the working poor and those living in disadvantaged communities, too often end up living in low incoming housing wherepests can thrive.
This is particularly alarming given a recent report that infestations of rodents and bed bugs areon the rise throughout California. These types of pests are not just a minor inconvenience butpose a serious threat to the health and safety of children and their families.
I have seen horrific living environments that no one should have to endure.
Pests can spread salmonella and dangerous, even life-threatening diseases, including thebubonic plague and the Zika, West Nile and Hanta viruses. There are even cases in this countryof rats chewing on the faces of sleeping infants.
According to the Pest Control Operators of California, which issued the report about the spike in
rodent and bed bug infestations, “the ability to effectively manage pests is a key advantage thatdifferentiates our society from Third World countries . . . pest control should be a fundamentalright for Californians, who need to be able to protect their families, homes and businesses.”
I couldn’t agree more. People living in affluent communities are able to address pests and keepthem out of their homes. Unfortunately, a lot of these people are the first ones to demand bansand unreasonable restrictions on the use of pesticides.
They monger fear to advance political agendas while ignoring the vital role pest control plays in
keeping restaurants sanitary and homes and schools safe. They also ignore the sophisticationof modern pest management, which employs a broad range of strategies to eliminate pests –not simply pesticides.
Yet, pesticides remain a vital tool. A scenario from Malibu is instructive in this regard. Severalyears ago, the city banded rodenticides. So it was no surprise when the local high schoolultimately became overrun with rats and realized it needed the very products the city hadbanned in order to eliminate the problem.
We don’t live in the 1960s anymore. California has the most stringent pesticide regulations inthe nation and perhaps the world. The public is safe – but only if pesticides are allowed to beused as necessary and in accordance with labeling instructions.Access to pest control is indeed a right all Californians deserve.
