FIGHT THE BITE: Lee County Mosquito Control sterilizing male mosquitoes
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LEHIGH ACRES, Florida (WFTX) — Florida is home to many different species of mosquitoes, and the Lee County Mosquito Control District has a new way to lower the population of those insects we can’t stand.
You might not hear it or see it, but you’ll eventually feel it when the backyard mosquito bites.
LCMCD started a new program to decrease the number of aedes aegypti, which we all know as the backyard mosquito, that can also spread diseases.
“The sterilized insect program that we have is really exciting and amazing. We’re starting to see some really great results,” LCMCD Communications Director Jenifer McBride said.
The program has been used on other insects, but not mosquitoes. McBride said they’re the first mosquito control district ever to do this.
Essentially, their scientists sterilize male mosquitoes, then release them in a neighborhood. Those mosquitoes mate with females, which then lay eggs that are not viable.
“We actually will lower the number of mosquitoes that we’re releasing because we’re knocking down that population,” she explained.
The district still uses chemicals and pesticides, which they say are not harmful to people, to control the other 53 types of mosquitoes in Lee County.
“We’re not looking for just treating mosquitoes, controlling mosquitoes in one way. We need lots of tools in the toolbox,” McBride said. “This is just another tool to combat that mosquito.”
She added that mosquito control districts across the country and world will use this program, such as Brazil.
While mosquitoes are a pest, McBride said it’s important to remember they are important to the environment, because they are pollinators and a source of food for other insects and animals.
“We don’t want to eradicate them. We are controlling them so that there’s less numbers out there, so less of a chance for a public health threat,” she said.
Also, less of a chance that leaves you itching for days.
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