Southern California is seeing a spike in the region’s mosquito population following winter's heavy rains, and drone technology is being used to combat the potential spread of disease.
A lab worker examines trapped mosquitoes for signs of West Nile Virus and other diseases at the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District laboratory in Garden Grove, Calif., on June 27, 2023. A drone is the latest technology deployed by the district to attack mosquitoes developing in marshes, wetlands, large ponds and parks. Mosquitoes grow into larvae from eggs laid in water, making proliferation of the biting bugs a major concern after California's extraordinarily rainy winter.
“There’s quite a bit more mosquitoes due to the rain," said John Savage, who recently operated the drone at San Joaquin Marsh Reserve near the University of California, Irvine. “You can see out here almost every single marsh pond is full of water.” The drone is flown higher than all nesting birds and allows access to places that can't be reached by a person with a backpack sprayer or trucks, Nguyen said.
“We’ve done studies where we watched the birds,” said Savage, “And the birds usually come right back after the drone passes over. So if anything, it’s better for the“The mosquito larvae are filter feeders, so they feed on the bacteria," Savage said. “It enters their gut and it’s a growth regulator. So essentially -- if you guys have seen the movie ‘Alien’ — it blows their stomach out.”
Mosquito-borne diseases have long been recognized as a public health threat, and the concern is rising.
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