LA mosquitoes are lighting up - but why?

Los Angeles residents, if you think you have been seeing glowing mosquitoes you're not going crazy! A new strategy is being introduced to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which has proven resistant to insecticides and quite aggressive. These mosquitoes are notorious for their painful bites, often called 'ankle biters.'

Steve Vetrone, the Vector Control District's Scientific-Technical Services Director, told Secret Los Angeles, that "from mid-May to October's end, we'll be releasing sterile male mosquitoes in Sunland-Tujunga; we'll start with 32,000 per week, gradually ramping up to around 60,000 weekly."

Over the project's duration, the program could unleash approximately one million sterilized mosquitoes. Orange County also plans to utilize this invasive species control method.

SIT involves raising male mosquitoes in a laboratory, sterilizing them with X-ray radiation, and marking them with a fluorescent dye for tracking. Once released into target areas, they mate with females, which then produce non-viable eggs, causing populations to decline over multiple generations.

"The lab-reared sterile male mosquitoes do not bite and cannot transmit diseases," Vetrone explained. "After mating with the released sterile males, females lay eggs that do not hatch."

Originating in Africa, the Aedes aegypti mosquito effectively colonized Los Angeles County in 2011 and flourished because of its natural resilience to pesticides. These invading mosquitoes can spread diseases like chikungunya, dengue, and Zika and bite nonstop during the day.

"Residents may notice a temporary increase in mosquito activity as we begin releasing the sterile males, but overall biting rates should decrease," Vetrone stated.

As workers release the fluorescent mosquitoes by foot, Vector Control encourages the public to eliminate standing water sources around properties to further curtail breeding grounds.