4 ms·

Probably because eradicating hornets can be done by finding and destroying nests. Mosquitoes on the other hand are far harder to get rid of. The most successful

Probably because eradicating hornets can be done by finding and destroying nests. Mosquitoes on the other hand are far harder to get rid of. The most successful mosquito eradication campaign in history was the use of DDT in the 50s. We could always just use DDT again right?

ethbr1 2y ago
Releasing artificially sterilized singe-sex pests at scale is pretty effective. [0] Tl;dr: Some species only mate once in individuals' lifetimes. Consequently, if that mating is with a sterile partner, no offspring will be produced. Thus severely limiting the size of the next generation. [0] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2946175/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2946175/
- praptak 2y ago
  Related paper on automating the process: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340467372_Efficient_production_of_male_Wolbachia-infected_Aedes_aegypti_mosquitoes_enables_large-scale_suppression_of_wild_populations https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340467372_Efficient...
toast0 2y ago
DDT is still approved for mosquito control. It is problematic, but is very effective... The big deal was banning it for agricultural use. Targetted use to control malaria is probably justified, given the negatives of malaria.
- mmooss 2y ago
  > Targetted use to control malaria is probably justified, given the negatives of malaria. Do we have evidence about whic his worse? Anyway, that sort of argument assumes there are no other solutions.