A multimillion-dollar war against mosquitoes is underway in Florida after Hurricane Ian
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/war-mosquitoes-florida-hurricane-ian-rcna52828
A multimillion-dollar war against mosquitoes is underway in Florida after Hurricane Ian
Hordes of mosquitoes have proliferated in Ian's floodwaters. Planes are dropping pesticide over hundreds of thousands of acres to control the insects.
Oct. 23, 2022, 7:00 AM EDT
By Alicia Victoria Lozano
First, the storm. Then, a plague of insects.
Hordes of mosquitoes have proliferated in floodwater and debris left in Hurricane Ians wake, and now swarm Florida communities.
State and local officials are waging a multimillion-dollar war against the bloodsucking insects which are known to spread diseases like West Nile virus and St. Louis encephalitis as they try to keep residents safe and prevent the voracious insects from slowing down the recovery crews working to fix power lines and rebuild infrastructure.
"The mosquitoes are out there, and theyre biting," said Eric Jackson, the deputy director of the Lee County Mosquito Control Division. "It is just a constant effort to knock down as many of those flying, adult mosquitoes as fast as we can."
[...]