Resident urges city action after crop sprayer doused car with fungicide

A Perry resident told the city council during open forum that an agricultural aircraft sprayed his vehicle with a thick, foamy fungicide while he was turning into his driveway and urged the council to prohibit aerial spraying within city limits.

The resident, Ray, said the spray hit his car and momentarily impaired his visibility. He described contacting the Dallas County Sheriff and Perry Police and later filing a complaint with the state Department of Agriculture. “All of a sudden from the east out of the sky comes a crop sprayer and douses our car with a fungicide,” he said. He said the spray company’s owner told him he “wasn’t the pilot” or that the pilot may have been avoiding trees and did not have time to turn off the spray.

The resident said he was not injured and did not seek money; his request to the council focused on preventing similar incidents and recommended an ordinance to ban aerial spraying inside the city.

Council members asked follow-up questions about prior incidents and whether the resident had captured the aircraft tail number; he said he had not. He identified the operator’s owner by name in the complaint but said the aircraft and exact chemical used were not documented in his possession; local agribusiness sources he contacted suggested the spray was probably a fungicide used on soybeans.

Why it matters: the episode raises public-health and nuisance concerns for residents who live near agricultural fields and airports. The council did not take immediate legislative action during the meeting; the resident’s complaint to the Department of Agriculture was noted and the council heard his request to consider a municipal response.

Next steps: the resident provided copies of his correspondence to the council. The council and staff may consult with the police, county sheriff and state agriculture officials to determine legal authority and options for municipal restrictions or other mitigation measures.