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The use of DEET in mosquito repellents is extremely troubling.

DEET has been associated with seizures and several cases of toxic encephalopathy (encephalitis) in children, including three deaths, according to the Extension Toxicology Network at Cornell University.

Dr. Mohamed Abou-Donia, a research scientist at Duke University Medical Center, whose studies have established a link between DEET and neurological damage in animals, warns parents in a recent Environmental News Service article, "Never use insect repellents on infants, and be wary of using them on children in general. Never combine insecticides with each other or use them with other medications. Even so simple a drug as an antihistamine could interact with DEET to cause toxic side effects. Don't spray your yard for bugs and then take medications. Until we have more data on potential interactions in humans, safe is better than sorry."

Meanwhile, state and federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), are encouraging the public to use mosquito repellents containing DEET. Although the CDC warns parents to avoid applying repellent on children less than 2 years old, the EPA and other state agencies are not giving that caution.

The EPA instead advises, "Do not allow children to handle the products, and do not apply to children's hands. When using on children, apply to your own hands and then put it on the child."

Have these people ever met a child? Children touch everything and everybody, including themselves. And then they put their pudgy little fingers directly into their mouths.

While the battle plan's objective is to target the mosquitoes that carry West Nile, the strikes won't be 'precision' and the collateral damage could be vast. Pesticides and larvicides can impact fish, insects, animals, and humans. And although the public has been told to lather up with DEET, spray pesticides, and eliminate standing water, little has been said about using select plants, birds, bugs, fish, and amphibians - gifts of nature that help control mosquitoes.

It seems we're traveling in a deadly circle.

Spraying for West Nile, while we're gassing ourselves.

Falling for a health scare, when the real scare is the alleged cure.

And the real cure can be found in the natural world we're attacking.