Residents Have Mixed Reactions to Arlington Ground Spraying

Arlington residents have mixed feelings about the city's recent ground spraying of insecticide.

Of Tarrant County's 231 confirmed human cases of West Nile virus, 53 are from Arlington.

The three nights of targeted ground spraying this week was the city's most proactive measure against mosquitoes to date.

Marilyn Castillo said she is satisfied.

"I'm happy with the spraying," she said. "I'm grateful for anything the city can do to cut down on the mosquitoes."

She said she is worried about the spread of the virus.

"It kills people," she said.

But Kimberly Smith said she is not happy with the ground spraying.

"I think it has a real environmental impact," she said. "It doesn't just target a mosquito population -- it targets everything that's around there, including our animals and our wildlife and other insects that are beneficial to our environment."

"I think it's a knee-jerk reaction to a problem that isn't as widespread as people think it would be," she said.

Bill Frye said he wants more done.

"I think it's a waste to do the ground spraying because it doesn't really cover enough area," he said. "They need to do the airplane to basically cover a wider area to get it done quicker."

The city says aerial spraying is not currently on the radar. It will continue to survey creeks and streams, while trapping and testing mosquitoes and deploying larvicide. If that fails, Arlington could opt for more targeted ground spraying.