Mosquito elimination has been a common public health measure for a long time, mainly by draining swamps and spraying pesticides. (The Massachusetts town in the

Mosquito elimination has been a common public health measure for a long time, mainly by draining swamps and spraying pesticides. (The Massachusetts town in the article will be spraying pesticides.) And many countries have more recently been releasing millions of sterilized mosquitoes, which can quickly drive down populations. You may be thinking of the relatively new gene-drive experiments. I believe these are mainly focused on Aedes aegypti, which is the biggest vector for many human diseases. Aedes aegypti is a non-native invasive species in the Americas (and many other parts of the world). But the disease discussed in this article (Eastern equine encephalitis) is spread by native mosquitoes including Culiseta melanura. I expect that many people who are okay with eliminating invasive species will be more hesitant about eliminating native ones, even harmful ones. On the other hand, we’ve long been eliminating mosquitoes in populated areas with the lower-tech methods discussed above. (Not to mention killing off countless other plant and animal species every year unintentionally/neglectfully.)