About Don’t Spray Me

Don’t Spray Me, founded in September 2015 by residents of West Chester PA and surrounding communities, raises awareness about the dangers of pesticides and other chemicals in the environment.  See our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/dontsprayme/ and our web site dontsprayme.com/.  Don’t Spray Me! is a subcommittee in the Sustainability Committee of Sierra Club’s Southeastern PA Group. We are grateful for Sierra Club’s ongoing support. We are also part of the Chester County Environment Alliance, a group of 20 (and growing) organizations. Please join us on Sept. 8 for our Rally for Environmental Justice beginning at the Chesco Court House at 2 p.m.

Our logo, the baby in a gas mask, symbolizes our desire to protect our environment and everyone, particularly the young, who are most vulnerable from the dangers of chemical poisons.

Our 400 signs placed across the County over 3 years have been very successful in getting out our message. If you’d like a sign (see our web site to ask), you can choose (left to right, depending on your mood) the original full-strength logo, the doffing of the gas mask, and the full happy child version.

With the support of our mayor at the time, Carolyn Comitta, and our Borough Council, the threatened spraying of Permanone in WC borough was avoided in 2015--our first victory. Borough officials agreed with us that the small risk of West Nile virus did not justify risking the health of Borough residents and potential environmental damage, including to bees and other beneficial insects, the poisoning of run off water, and the danger to pets. Our subsequent and current mayors, Jordan Norley and Dianne Herrin, have also supported Don't Spray Me, authored letters that we have distributed each summer in the Borough, and joined in our events.

We are now a group of almost 300 concerned citizens with chapters in West Chester borough and several other municipalities, with more to come, working in our neighborhoods on these important environmental issues.  We have branched out successfully into ending Roundup use by the Borough government. Our Sierra Club Youth Corps has also educated citizens on killing weeds in sidewalks without toxic chemicals (2017) and maintaining storm drains (2018).  We will be cosponsoring an environmental film festival at West Chester University for the second time in the fall of 2018.

A large body of research shows that spraying airborne pesticides for mosquito control poses serious threats to environmental and human health and is the least effective form of mosquito control. We are helping educate residents about non-toxic measures such as larviciding and reducing mosquito breeding sites by eliminating standing water.  Many communities across the nation have banned spraying for mosquitoes, some more than 15 years ago, with no adverse human health consequences. Measures in two Ohio communities inspired our work here in Chester County; and we are following the lead of California and Ontario in warning people about the dangers of Roundup. 

We urge all municipalities to examine these issues, to create detailed plans to control mosquitoes without spray, and thus to protect residents and the environment.