“The 2012 West Nile season was the worst on record in Texas. More than 1800 were infected, 86 people died.”
“With West Nile season approaching soon, there’s a controversial bill in the state legislature that would give the government more power to kill mosquitoes. Texas State Senate Bill 186 would allow authorities to legally trespass on private property without a warrant to treat stagnant water if it ‘is reasonably presumed to be abandoned or that is uninhabited’.”
Entering open land that is not posted is generally NOT considered trespass in the USA. If you have not been uninvited, fenced out or walled out by a building, you’re probably not trespassing. That goes for government employees as well as for commoners.
I don’t see this as a problem. Let ’em look.
Reminds me, a few years ago, I found standing water in two different places on the grounds of the Charlotte Museum of History. Mosquito larvae swimming in both. I think most people are clueless about standing water and mosquitoes. In areas where mosquito bites are a public health risk, then inspection by mosquito control techs is appropriate.
There may be a good reason to do this, and he harm to property owners from such trespassing is unlikely to be significant. But there may be smarter ways of doing it.
When I lived in Naperville, the City distributed leaflets urging people to get rid of stagnant water and we were informed of forthcoming inspections (which never occurred, to my knowledge). Additionally, they conducted regular aerial spraying campaigns (is dumping stuff on my backyard trespassing or not?)
At any rate, nobody seemed to mind. I don’t know how effective these efforts were, though. Mosquitoes were always there.