As Government cracks down on residents allowing mosquitoes to breed on their property, some gardeners are questioning whether policies are too heavy-handed against plant-lovers.

While all say they want to comply with efforts to control the local mosquito population, some have taken issue with the suggestion that all bromeliad plants should be destroyed.

"Gardening is important to me and plants are important to me," gardener Peter Carpenter told The Royal Gazette. "There should be an acceptable alternative to digging up your plants, particularly if you are treating them regularly to ensure the water is not suitable for mosquito larvae."

Government warned this week that the Asian Tiger mosquito - shown to be the most efficient carrier of West Nile to humans - has been on the Island for two years.

All residents are being asked to check their property for areas of standing water and to empty all collection containers including plant pots and trays, old tires, barrels, wading pools and other items which might hold water for more than a week.

The Health Department is also conducting spot checks at homes in an effort to protect the Island from pest-borne diseases like dengue fever and West Nile.

Bromeliads are being targeted because they can hold water deep within the plant where mosquitoes might breed unseen.

Mr. Carpenter said the Health Department recently made a spot check on his property while he was not home and left a citation warning him about his 12 bromeliads.

The inspectors tipped over containers all over the property including an antique tub he was using for water-borne plants.

But Mr. Carpenter said his tub contained guppies - which Government recommends for fish ponds and turtle ponds to control for mosquitoes - and he has been treating his bromeliads with pesticide which controls for mosquito larvae.

"I was concerned they did not recognise there were guppies in the tub," he told The Royal Gazette.

Mr. Carpenter also said he is reluctant to destroy the bromeliads which he has been growing for a long time.

"With regards to the bromeliads, the Health Department does not seem to offer any alternative other than removing them," he said. "Are we just going to destroy plants? There are trees all over the Island that hold water in nooks and crannies. Are we going to cut down (all) the trees?"

Mr. Carpenter said he was also upset because his property was entered without his permission.

Yesterday, however, Government Pest Control Supervisor David Kendall told The Royal Gazette inspectors have the authority to enter properties without the owner's permission under the Public Health Act of 1949.

He said the provision is important because often neighbours report problems but have no authority to ask homeowner to act or to get on the property to assess the situation, adding: "We have that authority."

He suggested gardeners with questions or concerns about mosquito-control efforts, contact his department directly at 236-1976.

The department's advice to bromeliad lovers is to move the plants to slat houses.

"Epiphytes don't require roots in soil," he said. "If they are grown like an orchid on a vertical surface or another plant they can be even more beautiful."

Mr. Kendall also said plant-lovers who are willing to put in the time to regularly treat their charges with pesticide can work with the Department to keep them.

"The pesticide has to be applied every two weeks or ten days to be effective," he said. "A lot of people don't have the energy to do that."