Pyrethrin insecticides and Chameleons forced exposure...

DanSB

DanSB

Avid Member
I'm not sure how many places have air born spraying of their areas for mosquitoes but anyone in Sacramento county where I live should be aware the local Vector control conducts aerial spraying to kill of mosquitoes due to West Nile Virus activity and supposedly some forms of Malaria infecting some local mosquito populations.

Most of what they spray are Pyrethrin based insecticides at a rate of about 3/4 oz an acre. I can't find any reliable information on how this would effect a Chameleon and I wouldn't trust the Vector control people to either know or give an honest answer.

So to state my question directly: How dangerous are these insecticides to my Chameleon and what additional precautions would be wise?

Website with details about pesticides used:
http://www.fightthebite.net/spraying-faqs/
 
They spray here also in the evenings a couple of times a week. I make sure all of my guys are inside with the doors shut for the rest of the night. I can remember a thread here years ago about this and all I can remember is it was bad for our chams.
 
So long as your cham does not come in contact with anything that was treated, within a couple hours after it was sprayed(or however its being applied) it should be fine. But Iwould recommend not leaving outdoor cages in treatment areas when not in use, just to be safe.
pyrethrins(or pyrethroids, theyre essentially the same) break down quickly in sunlight, usually within a couple hours, especially in direct sunlight.
Good thing is theyre usually not applied during daylight, for that reason.
 
Thank you both!

The temperatures are soon going to be nice enough to leave him out over night but I will make sure to watch for spray days to ensure that doesn't happen.

My guess is also this kinda rules out WC insects and also any feeders that might be housed outdoors should definitely be moved...? I don't think it will kill crickets, roaches, or moths 100%. It does sound like it would break down in their system and stomach acids quickly break down the toxin as well but it is probably best to just not risk it.
 
I've never had an issue with WC insects, but I don't feed them off in massive amounts either. My WC feeder usage is fairly minimal. I also don't collect any bugs when I know they spray though.
 
pssh said:
I've never had an issue with WC insects, but I don't feed them off in massive amounts either. My WC feeder usage is fairly minimal. I also don't collect any bugs when I know they spray though.
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My guess is the toxins either metabolize or disperse within 24 hours, if it doesn't kill the bug it should dissipate which is supposedly why they use it so readily.

I still don't like it but I suppose I would like West Nile or malaria even less...

That brings to mind another question: Are Chameleons susceptible to the West Nile virus? I know it is killing birds and that is a key indicator when you start seeing dead birds in the area.
 
There were some studies done about reptiles and pyrethroid's toxicity. Results were all the same: Reptiles including chameleons can become real sick by contact. There are several cases of reptiles who had acute cns effects after they were treated with some insectizides (mostly wrong applied), too.

Some more information:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nwrc/publications/98pubs/98-12.pdf
http://www.docsdrive.com/pdfs/ansinet/jbs/2002/408-410.pdf
http://www.scialert.net/qredirect.php?doi=pjbs.2003.821.825&linkid=pdf
http://www.vetpharm.uzh.ch/reloader.htm?wir/00005264/5531_08.htm?wir/00005264/5531_00.htm

And be careful, not all generations of pyrethroids break down in sunlight. Lots of years ago, that was right. Nowadays, we got lots of photostable pyrethroids.
 
Alexl said:
There were some studies done about reptiles and pyrethroid's toxicity. Results were all the same: Reptiles including chameleons can become real sick by contact. There are several cases of reptiles who had acute cns effects after they were treated with some insectizides (mostly wrong applied), too.

Some more information:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nwrc/publications/98pubs/98-12.pdf
http://www.docsdrive.com/pdfs/ansinet/jbs/2002/408-410.pdf
http://www.scialert.net/qredirect.php?doi=pjbs.2003.821.825&linkid=pdf
http://www.vetpharm.uzh.ch/reloader.htm?wir/00005264/5531_08.htm?wir/00005264/5531_00.htm

And be careful, not all generations of pyrethroids break down in sunlight. Lots of years ago, that was right. Nowadays, we got lots of photostable pyrethroids.
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This is great information thank you!

I wonder how this spraying will effect our native herps that can't go inside when it is happening? We have at least one endangered herp in the area http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/t.gigas.html that I would prefer not to have killed off plus quite a few other really neat species!

I might consider calling the Vector control and ask that they warn reptile keepers to take precautions when spraying. Even if the spray isn't in Lethal Dose it looks like it could still cause damage.
 
DanSB said:
This is great information thank you!

I wonder how this spraying will effect our native herps that can't go inside when it is happening? We have at least one endangered herp in the area http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/t.gigas.html that I would prefer not to have killed off plus quite a few other really neat species!

I might consider calling the Vector control and ask that they warn reptile keepers to take precautions when spraying. Even if the spray isn't in Lethal Dose it looks like it could still cause damage.
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The website says that they do break down rapidly in the sun, so I would assume that whatever they use what breaks down in the sun.

Aren't those snakes neat? I found out about them last year and I thought it was the coolest thing that we had them here. I have a ton of gartersnakes around my house but I don't know if they are the same kind.
 
pssh said:
The website says that they do break down rapidly in the sun, so I would assume that whatever they use what breaks down in the sun.

Aren't those snakes neat? I found out about them last year and I thought it was the coolest thing that we had them here. I have a ton of gartersnakes around my house but I don't know if they are the same kind.
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It looks like they are also using some of the synthetics which don't break down as rapidly, lets just hope the ones they are using do break down... but that doesn't help any of the nocturnal animals much!

There are some really neat herps in California in general, I first fouind out about the Giant Garter when I was a kid and took some summer course from a field herper who went into collection techniques and identification. That Herps of California website is a must read for all of us crazy people in California who love that sort of thing. I've spent hours just surfing around there.
 
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