There is a new way to fight biting, blood-thirsty bugs in Lee County. It’s meant to protect public health, but it could come at a noisy price.
Lee County Mosquito Control District is unveiling new technology to battle mosquitoes, a machine that releases a spray to kill mosquito larva, preventing them from being a nuisance or health hazard.
“This particular species is one that’s capable of spreading dengue fever, the chikungunya virus, Zika virus and it’s one that lives right around us,” said Eric Jackson with the district. “It prefers us as a host to get blood from.”
The district said the new machine is aimed to protect health. Jackson said bacteria coming out of a chimney-like device will kill mosquito larva in plants and bodies of water outside homes, attacking the bugs before they are fully grown and can bite people. The bacteria spray also stops the most dangerous of mosquito species from carrying disease.
The machines will only operate at night. The district said mosquitoes are more active after dark, and it said the substance sprayed won’t harm people or their pets, but it is a naturally occurring bacteria found in soil.