REPORT: Florida Keys to test drone to find mosquito breeding grounds

       
Officials in the Florida Keys tested a small drone to help wipe out mosquitoes that can breed in many unpopulated areas of the island chain.            

For a few minutes on Monday, the drone zipped over the islands near the famous seven-mile-bridge to see if mosquito breeding grounds could be located with its imaging sensors.              

The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District asked for a demonstration to see if a tiny, two-pound drone can locate puddles that have to be treated after frequent rainfalls in the Keys.              

Officials must scramble after every rainfall to kill mosquito larvae, a method preferable to spraying against fully grown insects.                

"Here in the Keys, it's so warm that they go from a dry piece of ground to adults in about five days. So, once the water hits the ground, we have maybe three days to put a bacteria in the water and kill them before they fly," said the district's director, Michael Doyle.              

The 63-thousand US dollars drone - called "Maveric" - is used by NAVY Seal Teams and by law enforcement agencies.                  

But using it in order to locate mosquito larvae is a first for the technology, said Condor Aerial CEO Fred Culbertson.


AP