A new program launching in Lee County will fight mosquito bites carrying diseases.
The Lee County Mosquito Control District’s new tool lowers the population of Aedes aegypti, a backyard mosquito that spreads Zika and other viruses, through sterilization.
“We’re starting to see some really great results,” said communications director Jenifer McBride.
Scientists will sterilize male mosquitoes that will then be released into the wild. Those insects will mate with females and lay eggs, but the eggs will not be viable. McBride says the county is the first to ever create this program.
Not all mosquitoes carry diseases, however. As pollinators and a food source, mosquitoes are vital to the environment. That’s why the district uses chemicals and pesticides unharmful to humans to keep the other 53 types of mosquitoes in the county safe.
“We don’t want to eradicate them,” McBride said. “We are controlling them so there’s less numbers out there [and] less of a chance for a public health threat.”
The program will be utilized across the nation and in foreign countries battling mosquito-related issues.
