DC-Area Mosquito Control Goes High-Tech With 600,000 Wolbachia-Infected Males

A Silver Spring company, Bee Safe Mosquito Control, will release about 600,000 Wolbachia-infected male mosquitoes (ZAP) in the DC metro area this summer to reduce the Asian tiger mosquito population. These sterile-like males don’t bite; when they mate with females, the females become infertile and eggs won’t hatch. The ZAP males come from MosquitoMate with EPA approval, and the program runs June through September across the DMV for roughly $1,000 per service, which is already sold out for 2026. Alphabet’s Google, via its Debug program, is planning larger-scale Wolbachia releases in California and Florida.”,