In an effort to combat the growing populations of disease-carrying mosquitoes in Washington, D.C., a Maryland-based company, Bee Safe Mosquito Control, is releasing 600,000 non-biting male mosquitoes infected with a sterilizing gut bacteria called Wolbachia. The mosquitoes, known as ‘ZAP males,’ target the invasive Asian Tiger mosquito, which can spread diseases such as encephalitis, dengue, and yellow fever. The released mosquitoes will mate with the biting females, rendering them infertile and preventing their eggs from hatching, thereby controlling the overall population. The company’s method has been proven successful internationally in South America, Singapore, and Australia. The mosquitoes being released do not attack humans, so there’s little need to worry about pesky mosquito bites.
According to Todd Montgomery, owner of Bee Safe Mosquito Control, ‘When they mate with the female, they actually cause that female to then become infertile for the rest of her life. She’s going around laying eggs that will never hatch.’ The company’s approach is designed to reduce mosquitoes in the long term rather than the short term, with the control typically working in about a month. The ZAP mosquitoes are already being deployed, and the company will continue to release them through September. The goal is to release 600,000 mosquitoes in total within the DMV for 2026, with hopes to increase that number for next season.
