Drone Deployed to Fight Mosquitoes in Southern California
upstart writes:
Drone deployed to fight mosquitoes in Southern California:
A drone flies over a peaceful Southern California marsh and unleashes a rain of larvae-killing bacterial spore pellets. Its target: a surging population of mosquitoes that can spread diseases to humans.
The drone is the latest technology deployed by the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District to attack mosquito development in marshes, large ponds and parks.
[...] Common methods of applying anti-mosquito treatments involve use of backpack sprayers, trucks, airplanes and helicopters. The drone allows more precise treatments and avoids the need to trample through sensitive lands, according to the district.
[...] 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.
Nguyen said the drone is able to treat 1 acre (0.4 hectares) of land in under two minutes, a task that would take more than an hour of hiking by a worker with a backpack.
[...] The anti-mosquito treatment is not harmful to other wildlife.
"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."
[...] So far this year, West Nile has not been detected in the Orange County district but Nguyen is nowhere near declaring victory over the pests.
"It's more of a battle," he said. "You're not going to win the war against mosquitoes, but you can gain some ground. And with advancements in technology, we're gaining ground."
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