MOORHEAD — People are calling for a change to mosquito spraying after what some are calling the "Monarch Massacre."
A Change.org petition — which has over 700 signatures — is pushing for Cass County Vector Control to use a mosquito pesticide that's more friendly to butterflies and other insects.
Signers of the petition also want to make their voices heard, as they're calling for public input meetings with the Vector Control Board.
Noelle Harden, a health educator with the University of Minnesota Extension and a resident of Moorhead, believes changing the spraying method will lead to less of a mosquito problem.
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"Given that this is the highest number of mosquitoes that we've seen in a long time, I would argue that our current approaches are not effectively working," she said.
According to Vector Control Director Ben Prather, the spray his agency used in the latest round of spraying is the least toxic one they have, and called the killing of monarchs an "unfortunate side effect."
