Oklahomans Freak Out Over "Experiment"

What they should do is have lots of Blackhawk helicopters in the air for no reason, hazmat suits, and inexplicable military convoys. Plus occasional rocket launches and multi-colored contrails:

"It's not like we're going to show up sometime in the spring and start spraying everywhere," he said.

Kitty Cardwell, a professor at Oklahoma State University and expert in agricultural biosecurity who has been involved in other Homeland Security projects, suggested that some residents may be worried because of the government's involvement in the testing.

"When you hear 'Homeland Security,' it sounds scary ... like quasi-military people running around in hazmat suits — that seems scary; it seems like a bad science fiction movie," said Cardwell, who added that DiPel is "only bad news if you're a caterpillar."

Those assurances aren't good enough for 59-year-old Alan Newport.

"The thing that really set me off is when they say it's an inert chemical," said Newport, who works for an agriculture trade publication. "It doesn't mean it's safe."