They've been in Hawaii since the 1800's and were discovered on the mainland in California in 2007. "The LBA moth is impossible to distinguish from native moths without DNA analysis." "The larvae are virtually indistinguishable from other native leaf-rollers, including the apple pandemis, garden tortrix, oblique banded and orange tortrix." (Nursery owner Jeff Rosendale 09/05/2007)

According to UC Davis entomologist, James R. Carey, " [It] was probably here a very long time prior to its discovery and it's probably far more widespread than currently delineated." Carey is noted for his research on the Mediterranean fruit fly invasion of California. "Invasions are actually far more difficult than generally believed; they are a process involving multiple steps, each of which can fail," Carey said. "However, once a pest has a major foothold, it's very difficult to eradicate it," he said. "While state and federal agricultural officials often talk about eradicating a 'population,' in reality, this requires eradication of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of mini-populations, pockets. Thus, anything short of 100 percent elimination of these thousands of pockets is control, not eradication.

In Hawaii, LBAM [Light Brown Apple Moth] is not considered to be a "significant pest. In fact, LBAM may actually be considered a biocontrol agent for serious invasive weeds, such as gorse and blackberry in Hawaii." The moth has caused absolutely no damage in Hawaii for the last ten years.

Even before the spraying they were flying the same planes over us every few days and helicopters. Lots of people think its to keep us on edge. Its like PTSD to alot of us. And in the days before the spraying they kept us all on edge saying, "No, not tonight, maybe tomorrow night." this went on for days and then when they did spray there was no warning, you just heard the planes and many people called police to see what was going on. They started spraying at 8 pm. I had a hard time sleeping as the planes sounded like a war zone. Low and loud over and over till 5 am. I sleep with ear plugs and could still hear them. I woke at 3 am with a tight, painful chest and it was hard to breathe. Other symptoms I have had which were new is extreme pain from my neck down my spine to my butt and out my arms, brain fog extreme, strange new headache, eye pain with discharge, swollen eyes with dark circles, diarrhea, total exhaustion, muscle pain, heart palps and anxiety. Its been 5 months now since the spray and I am still very ill. I am post menopausal and spotted December, January and February at full moon with premenstrual symptoms. I have not had a period or spotting for 15 yrs. Many got caught outside and got the spray on them and there were high school football games etc. going on. Every time I tried to go out to store or walks I would get sicker and could barely get up my stairs. I get soooo angry when I hear the the CDFA say the spray is not harmful. So disgusting and heartless. And then because of already having a disease we are not counted. I am a canary in the coal mine. A good gauge of how toxic this stuff is. I feel like I am in the twilight zone. I pray that these people will wake up for the babies, pregnant women and everyone else and our environment. I also hate hearing the birds died from this. Who knows what other animals and creatures were harmed. There has been NO sign that the moths have done any harm. Please click on a link below to view You Tube videos:

Absolutely. There was no warning. The State of California declared a State of Emergency and then sprayed a experimental biochemical formula on us that has not been tested. The doctors from the California Department of Food and Agriculture stated this in court documents. These chemicals were sprayed on all of us, without warning and with no regard to our health or what it would do to us. It's never been tested on anything, let alone humans. No one was prepared, people were out running, riding bikes, doing what people do. And what's even worse is it's time released. The chemicals are in miniature balls of volatile plastic called "microcapsules." These chemicals are introduced deeply into the body by swallowing or inhaling the micro-sized particles. They get stuck in the lungs where they'll stay unless you're able to cough them out. Because they are time released they will harm innocent children out playing in the yard along with pets and wildlife. And because it's time released it doesn't just end with the spraying it keeps on going for up to three months. It acts more like a drug on humans than as a pesticide on moths. There be will have long term effects because so many people, literally thousands of them, have had undocumented side effects. The CDFA and the EPA aren't interested in any of that. They don't seem concerned that the spray was much heavier than they told us.

LBAM Aerial Spray - Exposure Levels

Watch Jim Warren from the USDA tell as he tells everyone not to worry because the average number of microcapsules / microspheres per square foot would be an average of 33. However there were collected and analyzed cards that had 809 microcapsules / microspheres per square foot.

One infant in the City of Monterey nearly died from inhalation of the experimental biochemical and now has permanent lung damage. A woman had a miscarriage the day after and another person had a stroke. This could be a coincidence but it's more likely to be a direct a result of the spray. Dozens of women, myself included, are reporting problems with their reproductive systems after exposure to the pesticide, including sudden, severe and irregular menstrual cycles, extreme cases of tender and swollen breasts and the recurrence of menopause symptoms in older post menopausal women.

Other side effects of both Checkmate OLR-F and Checkmate LBAM-F include asthma and sudden breathing difficulties, chest pain, vomiting, swollen lymph glands, rashes, lethargy, fatigue and extreme mood swings. Some people have coughed up blood and have gotten bloody noses, had red and orange urine all from the Checkmate exposure.

The explanation for the severe side effects lays with the "microcapsules" We cannot know how it will effect our children or ourselves, these microcapsules are endocrine disrupters. Endocrine disrupters cause cancer. Who's going to pay?

How are the doctors in Santa Cruz? Do they believe the spray is harmful or are they blowing it off as mass hysteria?

At first some doctors treated patients badly, like it was some kind of mass hysteria. We're not hysterical we're sick. One of my neighbors was treated very badly by his doctor, so i encouraged him to seek another doctor. Then Dr. Doris J. Rapp [drrapp.com] flew in to talk to our doctors so they would know what to look for and how to document the evidence. My own doctor has been very supportive and is opposed to the spraying.

My doctor is Randy Baker MD and I feel so grateful and Blessed to have him in my life. Prior to the spray he was treating me for Lyme disease, MCS and other things. I do alot of Energy Techniques that are helping but with all that I am doing I am still very ill. I was having hope of getting well when the spray happened in Nov. I am also doing some of the following protocols listed below that are found on this site, Hope for Truth.

I tried to seal my windows but the very high ones I could not reach. I will have help next time if need be to seal all of them.

Is there any thing you'd like to say to the people who've been sprayed that aren't noticing any negative health effects?

They need to remember that even though they didn't feel like they had a reaction these are toxins and each time they will add to the total body load. Think of your body as a barrel. It will only hold so much water before it overflows, it's the same with humans. We don't come equipped with built in meters so we have no idea what our total load is. Use your voice to speak out for those of us who are too sick to do it ourselves.

First of all something that really hurt was to go to my Lyme groups to tell of my experience and spread the info. I had one gal say, " its just a pheromone" and she said it "could not hurt anyone". Then I went to another site and was told I could talk about my personal experience but not about politics. And very few acknowledge me at any of the groups. The worst was when I was told to stop talking about it because it was a controversy. The owner said no more posts about it. This is supposed to be a lovie dovie Christian group. They said Lymies come there to heal and don't need to hear this stuff. I am a Lymie and have mcs and this was very hurtful. Some people spoke up to support me but were told NO more of this. These Lymies may feel different if it comes to their state. Which it might if big brother gets their way. This is 2008, I cannot believe this is happening.

My main support or people that get it are my daughter and her husband and a couple of my online friends. A male neighbor gets it as he got sick from the spray. I have pretty much backed off all the sites as I feel pretty much invisible. Even on the on line community i belong to, the owner is the only one responding to my posts about this. I am taking it personally as these people don't get it and are so unconscious or totally into their own stuff. Does not feel good. Especially because I'm dealing with being pretty much home bound. I thought the Lyme sites would be supportive. NOT! The local Stop the Spray group is supportive and I would get more support if I could get to more of the meetings. I think the whole world needs to read "A New Earth" so they will wake up. Hmmmm! My Dr is also very supportive, as is my acupuncturist and overall I am grateful for the support I get. I had a friend come by last night and she spoke at one of the meetings and gets it.

How do you deal with the unconscious people who believe there's no harm being done, especially those in the EI community?

How do I deal with the unconscious people? I have felt hurt, angry, accepting, shocked etc etc. One EI woman on a list said, "It's just a pheromone, it won't hurt you." That is ridiculous, that's not even taking in to account the inert ingredients or the fact it's an endocrine disrupter which are known to cause cancer. Not to mention that fact that these so called "harmless" pheromones are messing up womyn's hormones, i'm having periods again. And she and others think it's safe? What kind of fricking bullshit is that? And these are EI's! That's what amazes me. And that's what hurts. I wonder what they'll say when it comes to their town?

There were two young guys working in the organic produce section of the health food store were so rude it shocked me. One said, "There is no proof that it hurt anyone." and the other one said, "Ya ya I have heard all the stories," with a dirty look. I had asked both if they had any organics from out of the spray area. It's hard sometimes to keep my cool with some of the ignorant comments, especially when feeling so ill.

No, i'm no longer eating eating local organic food. Our organics are no longer organic but they're still letting the farmers sell them like they are. Many have stopped buying local or spray area so its hurting the organic farmers and the others as they cannot sell them to other states etc because of LBAM. I have been eating frozen organic which I really would rather not do. Many people are moving and people are saying they will not come to Santa Cruz or Monterey if they keep spraying which will harm us money wise. And it goes on and on. They are looking for lbam in other states. So if we move it could happen elsewhere. San Francisco,and wine country are also tourist towns that will lose $. The CDFA on the panels are like robots, they show no emotion just same story over and over. Lies and more lies. It's all about ego's, power, control and money and absolutely no heart.

I didn't make it to the meeting today but heard it was packed again and there was a rally in Monterey and Gore was there. It will be interesting to see his response. I just saw a blip on our local news about the town hall meeting today. This channel usually covers things good at first and then it looks like they get told to cool it. SF bay area is getting pretty good positive coverage. There is a lawsuit Santa Cruz has going and I think about 5 assembly members have come to our aid and we are going to try and get it on the ballot to stop the spray. Its so stressful every day hoping to hear a positive about it. I am so proud of Santa Cruz, Monterey, and now SF Bay Area for standing up for this and against the insanity.

According to the product label the active pheromones comprise approximately 18 percent. (E)-11-Tetradecen-1-yl Acetate and (E,E)-9,11Tetradecadien-1-yl Acetate: These active ingredients are synthetic pheromones mimicking the female moth's mating scent. The inert ingredients make up the other 83 percent. Even though Governor Schwarzenegger asked for a full disclosure they still have given us a list of ALL the ingredients. Click here to view the Material Safety Data Sheet for Checkmate LBAM-F.

A Pheromone is a chemical that triggers a natural behavioral response in another member of the same species. There are /alarm pheromones/, /food trail pheromones/, /sex pheromones/, and many others that affect behavior or physiology.

Yes, There are health hazards associated with everyone of the "inert" ingredients. The "inert" chemicals are enclosed in micro capsules known to cause harm to all life forms, including humans. Those causing concern are: butylated hydroxytoluene, tricaprylyl methyl ammonium chloride, polyvinyl alcohol, and sodium phosphate. The inert ingredients include many that the EPA has officially determined, under other statutory programs, to be hazardous or toxic. Numerous studies indicate that inert ingredients may enhance the toxicity of pesticide formulations to the nervous system, the cardiovascular system, mitochondria, genetic material and hormone systems (For a discussion, see "Unidentified Inert Ingredients in Pesticides: Implications for Human and Environmental Health" Under current labeling regulation, inert ingredients do not have to be disclosed.

"Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), chemically 2,6-di-tert-butyl-p-cresol (DBPC), is a white crystalline solid with a faint characteristic odor. It is insoluble in water and in propylene glycol, but is freely soluble in alcohol. It is obtained by alkylation of p-cresol with isobutene or by monobutylation of m,p-cresol mixtures. BHT is used as a chemical antioxidant for food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals much like butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). BHA is insoluble in water, but is freely soluble in alcohol and in propylene glycol."

Acute effects:
       May cause skin irritation.
       May be harmful if absorbed through the skin.
       May cause eye irritation.
       May be harmful if inhaled.
       Material may be irritating to mucous membranes and upper respiratory tract.
       May be harmful if swallowed.
       To the best of our knowledge, the chemical, physical, and toxicological properties have not been thoroughly investigated.

Absolutely not. The California Department of Food and Agriculture's own doctor acknowledges, in court documents, that aerial application of this chemical has not been tested. Let me repeat this so you understand, chemicals are being sprayed on young children, nursing mother's, people with asthma, lung problems, heart problems, the old and infirm, the disabled, people living on the streets and those like me who are chemically sensitive - by a chemical formulation has NEVER been tested. The newly designed Faroes Statement, which is a consensus of over 200 scientists, calls for a precautionary approach because exposure of fetuses or children to chemicals can cause increased susceptibility to disease and disability later in life. Additionally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has specific directives and codes that state that they should not experiment with pesticides on infants or pregnant women. But they are experimenting on us anyway, even though it has never been proven to control the moth's mating habits let alone proven safe for animals or humans. All this harm to so many people for a little moth that has yet to cause any damage to the state of California or anywhere else.

Is there one particular site that has good information about the spraying in California?

There are safer alternatives, no one anywhere should have to go to sleep at night knowing they could be showered with poison. No one should have to wake up and find they're health has been further compromised by the ignorance of corporate greed and government officials that pander to them. Please, don't let this happen again anywhere! Call your state and federal representative and tell them to push through laws the prohibit aerial spraying. Support us by calling our California State Senators and Representatives to begin engaging in a criminal investigation. If it doesn't get stopped in California it will spread across the entire United States. It should be considered nothing less than a criminal offense to mass poison an entire population of people, including children, the elderly and the infirm.

The real cost is in the spray, NOT THE DAMAGE (to the crops). This specific information was then removed from all future slide shows and presentations. When asked why CDFA's John Connell stated that the information seemed "to confuse people."

Aerial pesticide spraying put people at risk:

"We cannot exclude the possibility that one or more ingredients in the LBAM product could cause an allergic response in sensitive individuals," reads the report, issued by the Department of Pesticide Regulation, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and the Department of Public Health.

The report acknowledges that some of the ailments suffered by people in the Monterey and Santa Cruz areas - namely asthma and reactive airway disease - "may be associated with exposure to a sensitizer or allergen."

Furthermore, the report says the product sprayed last year on densely populated Central Coast neighborhoods caused white blood cells to multiply at an "abnormally high rate" in the lymph nodes of the test animals.

Joyce La Fleur is a long time activist, light worker and healing from Lyme disease and co -infections. She does a mind, body, spirit approach. She loves Santa Cruz where she lives and enjoys walking on the beach, and beautiful green forests.