It causes cancer in animals and is listed as a possible human carcinogen. Carbaryl is a pesticide that poses great risk to public health. It is particularly hazardous to infants and children, the elderly, people on chemotherapy or with a compromised immune system, and pets, birds, honeybees, and other beneficial insects. It can cause nausea, stomach cramps, diarrhea, blurred vision, muscle paralysis, and convulsions. Wholesale application of broad-spectrum pesticides to control pests is not successful.
Bugs adapt, become resistant, and evolve into super-bugs.
Meanwhile, Napa County supervisors have been more responsive to public outrage. Napa citizens helped write their county's plan and on Nov. 7 were able to further delay a decision in order to allow for more input. Whereas Sonoma County's 30-page plan is vague and lacks adequate detail, the more comprehensive Napa plan is already 150 pages long. Many specific objections to Sonoma County's workplan have been raised. For example, the agricultural commissioner has already taken down the sharpshooter traps for this year, since the insect will not arrive until spring, at the earliest.