https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart…ess-180979960/
https://www.science.org/content/arti…ompts-backlash
Miserable bugs like mosquitoes are a nuisance at best, carriers of lethal diseases at worst. No wonder people try their best to avoid their bloodlust. Some indigenous tribes spread ashes on their skins to deter them, and a variety of plants are known to be more or less effective at keeping them at bay. Then came DDT, which was adequately potent in eliminating the beasts, but sadly had some unpalatable side effects. After it was banned in most countries, all sorts of insecticides were sold and widely used.
While stationed in India, I could appreciate the annoyance caused by mosquitoes. It is no comparison to those few specimens vying to rob your sleep during a Swiss summer’s night. The insecticides on sale there were impressive: one quick squirt in the general direction of a fly or mosquito would have it dropping out of the sky immediately. Again, no comparison to the feeble fog dispensed by the “Insect Spray” sold in Central Europe. On a longish trip through South America, them mozzies could easily creep through the gaps in the window / window frame of the hotel room out in the boondocks. A locally bought spray applied around the gaps kept the room mosquito free for days.
So indeed there is some potent stuff being used in places below the radar. Got me wondering…
During a conversation a farmer (in Switzerland) asked me if I had not noticed that while driving the car in summer lately the windscreen is no longer plastered with a smear of insect carcasses, that would be a sign that there are a lot fewer insects than before? OK, cars are more streamlined nowadays, but is that a valid reason for the windscreen staying cleaner than before?
Also, apiarists are worried about the decline of bee populations, other pollinators are shrinking in number due to a proliferation of insecticide, fungicide and herbicide usage.
So to remove what we call pests, we use “broadband” agents which wipe out just about everything, including anything beneficial, maybe that in an especially effective manner.
I am apprehensive when it comes to genetic engineering, but I suppose a targeted attack limited to certain species only, is a good idea. There are around 3600 species of mosquito, the great majority of these do not carry diseases. The eradication of species which are responsible for millions of deaths and hundreds of millions of infections should be weighed against the ecological “loss” of mosquito species, as the ecological gap left will quickly be filled by the competition.