Florida Keys Mosquito Control District and Oxitec Announce the Start Date for Phase One of the 2023 Mosquito Project Season
MEDIA ADVISORY
DATE: 27 March 2023
Florida Keys Mosquito Control District and Oxitec Announce the Start Date for Phase One of the 2023 Mosquito Project Season
Following successful pilot deployments in 2022, the FKMCD-Oxitec Mosquito Project will launch its 2023 season in early April 2023.
The continuation of this project into a third season follows federal approval in March 2022 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and in May 2022 from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS).
The first phase of 2023 mosquito releases will take place on Vaca Key, in the Florida Keys.
Marathon, FL: Following a successful 2022 season, Oxitec and the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) announced that the third season of the FKMCD-Oxitec Mosquito Project will begin in early April 2023.
Phase one of the 2023 mosquito season will involve placement of Oxitec’s just-add-water mosquito boxes on private property of volunteer residents on Vaca Key, with mosquito populations also monitored on additional untreated comparison sites at other locations on Vaca Key and on Key Colony Beach. The maximum number of non-biting, male Oxitec mosquitoes expected to be released in 2023 is less than three million.
Deployments during the 2022 season confirmed that Oxitec male mosquitoes disperse throughout release areas, that they are able to find and mate with invasive Aedes aegypti females and can reduce the local abundance of Aedes aegypti.
Oxitec’s safe, sustainable and targeted biological pest control technology is harmless to local ecosystems and is proven to control the disease-transmitting Aedes aegypti mosquito that threatens communities in Florida and other parts of the USA.
FKMCD and Oxitec are holding the first webinar of their 2023 Public Educational Webinar Series on Thursday, March 30th at 5pm ET. To register for this event - titled "Takeaways from 2022, Planning for 2023" - and to view recordings of past webinars, please visit keysmoquitoproject.com/events.
**ENDS**
Press Inquiries:
Florida Keys Mosquito Control District
Chad Huff, Public Education & Information Officer
O: 305-292-7190
C: 305-481-2207
Oxitec
+1-202-792-3080
Additional resources:
The U.S. EPA’s approval of and complete risk assessment of the pilot project;
The U.S. EPA’s responses to public comments;
100+ independent peer-reviewed scientific publications on Oxitec technology;
Oxitec’s announcement of pilot results in Brazil;
About Oxitec
Oxitec is the leading developer of biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, destroy crops and harm livestock. Founded in 2002 at the University of Oxford, Oxitec is led by a passionate team comprised of 15 nationalities and is supported by world-class public, private and non-profit partners.
Learn more at oxitec.com.