PASCO COUNTY, fla — The Pasco County Mosquito Control District is launching a new technique to fight mosquito-borne illness from spreading within the region. It is called the Sterile Insect Technique. This technique will target the aedes aegypti mosquito, which is known to spread serious disease.
This technique will take sterilized male mosquitoes and release them into the wild to mate with local females. Adriane Rogers with the Pasco County Mosquito Control District tells me the eggs they produce will not actually hatch.
WATCH Pasco Mosquito Control launches new way to combat mosquito-borne illness
“They are sterilized so they don’t hatch off. The offspring are not viable, so over time the population decreases.
She said this will help in controlling the population and reducing the risk of mosquito-borne illness.
We asked if this means there will be more mosquito bites with more male mosquitoes in the air.
Rogers said, “Male mosquitoes don’t bite so by releasing sterilized makes we are not increasing mosquito bites or the potential for disease risk.”
This is an eight-week trial program. Officials will track and test the mosquitoes to see how the technique performs locally. They will release a group of male mosquitoes every Thursday.
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