I don't know the answer. I'm guessing that if enough spray got on the flower, and the butterflies ingested it, they could certainly die. If the spray truck is far enough away, the flowers may not be touched, though. Maybe you could hose down the bushes after the spray truck comes through?

Sherry

I wonder what kind of spray they use. If it is toxic to butterflies and caterpillars, but doesn't harm the cats in your back yard, it's probably not doing a very good job on the Mosquitos. I wonder if it doesn't just effect Mosquitos who are flying when the spray comes through. Or maybe it is somehow specific to the Mosquitos and doesn't harm other insects (wishful thinking). I would see if you can find out from the city or county what it is that they spray and do some research yourself on what effects it might have and how you can avoid or minimize those effects.

Martha

Sherry,

So far, I have been covering the bushes and flowers in my front beds with old sheets on the night they spray. It's not difficult, but still just one more small chore I'd rather not have on my list, and even as lightweight as the sheets are, they are still heavy enough to damage some of my lighter stemmed flowers.

docmom: I wonder if it doesn't just effect Mosquitos who are flying when the spray comes through. That is exactly all it does, and I wish people would realize that! The mosquito population is easily and more effectively controlled by eliminating standing water, their breeding ground. (or better yet, creating a hospitable bat environment, but that's NOT going to be accepted by 99.% of the population.. ) Unfortunately the annoyance of getting bitten and the West Nile Virus panic makes the uniformed very happy that the county sprays/fogs every week.

As for the truck...I live on a narrow cul de sac, so the truck is very close. But the fog/spray does not carry to the back yard. I have a neighbor 2 doors down who has an herb garden on the side of her house, which is pretty close to the street . She is fine with me picking the eggs and tiny cats off of her crop, but they all end up dying. :( The ones from my plants survive at the natural percent..I still have the odd one or two that don't make it, but mostly I am successful.

So...I know that host plants hit by the spray will kill the eggs and cats, which makes me wonder if nectar from sprayed flowers is lethal to butterflies.

I'm sure it's not good for them, anyway.

I love watching for the bats to come out at dusk. And it's so neat to watch them dive and swoop as they clear out those pesky bugs. We used to play with the bats when I was a kid. We' d throw small pebbles in the air as high as we could and watch the bats dive after them. Mean, I know, but I was young and stupid.

Good luck with the spray problem.
Martha