Photo by alexhastings.

Ah, jizz berries, the curse of many a District autumn. Yes, it’s once again about that time when the city’s pedestrians find themselves pinching their noses in a desperate battle against the scent of feces and vomit, then frantically scraping the disgusting ginkgo produce from the soles of their shoes.

And this year’s stinky occupation sounds like its already in full gear, despite the fact that November is usually prime ginkgo dropping season.

After a year of proactivity, the District Department of Transportation’s Urban Forestry Administration’s efforts to coat female ginkgo trees with an odor-neutralizing spray got off to a later start in 2011. DDOT said in April that 2010’s early spraying was due to a heat wave that threatened to speed up the tree’s reproductive cycle, so it’s not as if the agency was technically late — though, when we’re talking jizz berry vigilance, I’d argue one can never be too early.

In the interest of science, I thought I’d recycle an old poll to see if the city’s actually gotten any better at curbing the fruit’s presence, or if we’re simply destined to always have our brisk autumn constitutionals sullied with the stench of a wet dog smothered in cheese.