Infertile mosquito populations

[Randy W]

Including dating tips (highlighted below) that might work for humans as well. Try at your own peril.

 

I'm NOT seeing, though, where it says how many mosquitoes were wiped out - that is, how many sterilized mosquitoes does it take to wipe out a given population.

 

I'm remembering a time in Houston (1960's) when the mosquitoes were wiped out entirely. The net effect was that the predators who ate mosquitoes all died off, so that the mosquitoes came back in force several months later. We couldn't step outside for more than a few seconds without getting covered with dozens of bites.

 

from the SCMP

 

Chinese scientists’ new technique to wipe out mosquito populations may provide vital new weapon against range of deadly diseases

• Researchers managed to eradicate populations on two islands in Guangzhou province in two years by releasing 200 million insects specially bred to be infertile
• Mosquitoes carry a range of diseases such as malaria and dengue fever and scientists believe using biological technique may be best for the environment

 

The mosquitoes were fed sugar but also infected with parasitic viruses. Photo: AFP

 

 

Scientists have wiped out the entire population of mosquitoes on two islands in southern China using radical techniques to render the males infertile, according to a new study that could transform the fight against a range of deadly diseases.

Over nearly two years, scientists released more than 200 million specially bred male Asian tiger mosquitoes on Shazai and Dadaosha islands in the delta to the south of Guangzhou city, the area with the highest number of dengue fever cases in China.

The study, published in the latest edition of the journal Nature, said the mosquitoes, also known as Aedes albopictus, had been exposed to short bursts of gamma radiation and received three artificially induced infections from three different species of Wolbachia, a parasitic microorganism, to make them infertile.

The males were also fed with sugar in the hope of making them bigger and stronger – and therefore more attractive to female mosquitoes during the mating season.

 

. . .

 

The study said that in the beginning, only 13 per cent of the people on Shazai island had supported the work.

The researchers had released more than 140 million of the insects on the 3 sq km (1.9 square mile) island – which equated to 72,000 mosquitoes for every one of its 2,000 or so residents – and even thought the males do not bite, many locals felt uncomfortable about having so many released into their neighbourhood.

But by the end of the experiment, opinion polls showed that almost all the locals supported – or at least did not oppose – the project after the number of bites recorded fell by more than 96 per cent.

 

 

[amberjack1234]

I can see how that would work on an island but I doubt that it would keep wild mosquito at bay for very long in an uncontrolled area. It looks like it would work if you treated the whole continent but that would be an almost impossible task. I think that they are going to be with us for a long time. Hope I'm wrong.

[Dennis143]

Born and raised in California, our family would go on camping trips throughout the state; Yosemite, Big Basin, Huntington Lake, State Beaches... I remember in the 50s and 60s there'd be ranger's trucks driving through campgrounds spaying out a giant fog behind them. Dad said it was DDT. Of course, I didn't know what DDT was back then. We didn't think of DDT as a health hazard. Yet, I don't recall ever having mosquito bites. Not so sure if any health issues I'm having today might have been caused by breathing in all that DDT.

[Randy W]

Was this your childhood playground?

 

 

 

They also used diazinon, or pyrethrins. Like I said, in Houston, they were able to wipe them out - temporarily, after they had a few cases of malaria. About 6 months later, you could swat a few just by moving your arm through the air.

[Dennis143]

Was this your childhood playground?

 

 

 

They also used diazinon, or pyrethrins. Like I said, in Houston, they were able to wipe them out - temporarily, after they had a few cases of malaria. About 6 months later, you could swat a few just by moving your arm through the air.

Yessir there's the truck and yep there's me runnin' and playin' in the fog. Dang we sure trusted our govm't back then. The good ole days.

[amberjack1234]

Yep and get behind one of them and they would not pull off the road and let the traffic pass them. You just had to suck it up. I can remember when the military use to use it for the crabs. Of course, I never had to use it but I knew somebody that did.