Florida Keys Mosquito Control District and Oxitec Announce Plans for the 2024 Mosquito Project Season
MEDIA ADVISORY
24 JUNE 2024
Florida Keys Mosquito Control District and Oxitec Announce Plans for the 2024 Mosquito Project Season
Following successful pilot deployments of Oxitec’s non-biting male mosquitoes, the FKMCD-Oxitec Mosquito Project will now examine potential integration with other mosquito control tools for the 2024 season.
Three pilot seasons have concluded, and the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) and Oxitec have together demonstrated that Oxitec non-biting, male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes perform well in the field, can reduce the local abundance of the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito, and have enabled the optimization of just-add-water egg release devices. Oxitec is now working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to seek full commercial approval.
During the upcoming 2024 season, no further releases of Oxitec male mosquitoes will take place. Instead, the joint project team will focus on best practices for integration of Oxitec’s non-biting male mosquitoes with ongoing District-level operations.
Marathon, FL: Following a successful 2023 season, Oxitec and the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) announced that a fourth season of the FKMCD-Oxitec Mosquito Project will run through the Summer of 2024.
For the 2024 season, the joint project team will be studying the integration of this sustainable, biological approach with current practices including the use of insecticides. Oxitec boxes will be placed outside in a range of locations in Florida Keys neighborhoods but no Oxitec male mosquitoes will be deployed or released, instead this work will use only a locally sourced, wild strain of Aedes aegypti.
In deployments to date, the performance of Oxitec’s just-add-water boxes have been evaluated and optimized as a stand-alone control tool in Florida Keys communities. In line with study design, after Oxitec male mosquito releases had ceased, post-release mosquito monitoring continued through the Spring of 2024, and in doing so documented the disappearance of the Oxitec mosquitoes from the environment within the expected time frame.
Oxitec mosquitoes have demonstrated the ability to control the invasive, disease transmitting Aedes aegypti mosquito, which has been established throughout the Florida Keys. Oxitec’s safe, sustainable and targeted biological pest control technology is harmless to local ecosystems and beneficial species, like butterflies and bees.
FKMCD and Oxitec shared a report on the 2023 Project in their Public Educational Webinar, held in December 2023. This was the 24th in the series, with all past webinars available to watch on keysmosquitoproject.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
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.