In South Florida, rainy seasons can also be called mosquito season. For this purpose, Florida has come up with a new weapon to combat against insects and diseases. As per the latest updates, Florida is to battle mosquitoes through the Federal Drone’s Program. Federal approval has been granted to the Lee County Mosquito Control District to use the drone program for the purpose of managing pests by spending the summer spreading larvicide over salt marshes that are usually used as breeding grounds by infectious mosquitoes. This can be a high-tech and efficient attempt to control the pest population along with saving a huge deal of the state’s money. Drones are already being used by the mosquito control company for the purpose of searching for pools of standing water that are at distant places.

Interestingly, now these drones will be able to carry around enough larvicide that can be sprayed across more than 2 acres. This is a task that would normally be handled by helicopters that are very expensive. However, this technology will make it less costly and efficient to treat the remote pools and eradicate mosquitoes. Florida Keys Mosquito Control District wants to start with a precise location to test first.

Dealing with pests and finding a way to combat them can be a daunting task in some places. If not controlled, they could lead to the spread of various dangerous diseases. Therefore, this technology will be a good option to deal with such situations and controlling the spread of diseases, especially in remote areas.

A few days ago, residents in Key West woke up from the noise of a mosquito control helicopter that was there to spray larvicide to the Aedes aegypti mosquito after heavy rainfall. The Aedes aegypti mosquito carries diseases like dengue and Zika virus. These helicopters and drones will become a common sight during the summer as the plans are to spray larvicides on the saltmarsh mosquitoes in remote areas. The idea of using drones is a cost-effective and an efficient alternative compared to helicopters.

If everything goes as per the plan, Florida Keys Mosquito Control District will consider expanding the program next year. The exact details of when and how the unmanned drone will be used to spread larvicide and combat pests in Florida is unknown. The idea of this program is to expand and not be limited to the present regulations to see how this can be used to control other diseases. If it works, it could become a huge success for the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District.