DIY Mosquito Trap Catches Thousands Per Night

Heather Callaghan

DEET is a heavy-duty toxin to be spraying on clothes and especially highly absorbable skin. Not all natural skin repellent combos work to keep mosquito bites at bay. Mesh curtains, candles, bug lights - all of the above - offer minimal protection against mosquito bites.

While some people don't like the idea of decimating a bunch of bugs - even pests - mosquitoes aren't just "pests" anymore, leaving behind a swollen thank-you bump for your generous blood donation. Not only are they out of control with changing weather patterns, they are legions of little carriers for diseases like chikungunya virus, dengue, lyme and more. What are the implications of the release of genetically engineered mosquitoes into the wild? We'll never know.

At any rate, you can safely collect them and keep them from your family, friends and pets without needing a biochem suit.

GM mosquito trial results in Cayman prove ineffective in tackling dengue

Activist Post

GM insect company Oxitec today published results of its trials of genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes in the Cayman Islands in 2010 (1). The results were originally submitted to the journal Science in January 2011 but have now finally been published in Nature Biotechnology (1). The paper shows that Oxitec has no clear baseline for claims made in the press that it achieved an 80% reduction in the target population of mosquitoes, and that to achieve the claimed effect it significantly increased the number of adult GM mosquitoes it expected to release and also released additional GM pupae at locations spaced at 70 to 90m apart across the release site.

GM dengue mosquito - Wiki image

"This poor quality paper pours cold water on the idea that Oxitec's GM mosquitoes will be an effective way to tackle dengue" said Dr Helen Wallace, Director of GeneWatch UK. "Staff would be better employed using the well-established public health approach of removing mosquito breeding sites rather than in placing GM mosquito pupae at intervals across a site. Removing the flower pots and water containers where mosquitoes breed has the added benefit of reducing both mosquito species that spread dengue, not just one of them. It is hard to see how Oxitec can justify commercial releases of its GM mosquitoes based on such poor data."

Up to 20,000 Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes Released in Australian Towns

Anthony Gucciardi
Activist Post

Do you remember how some scientists, researchers, and individuals like Bill Gates were trying to release genetically modified mosquitoes into the environment? Well, that endeavor isn’t quite over. Two towns in Northern Australia have recently been gifted with 10-20 thousand genetically engineered mosquitoes – almost completely replacing mosquitoes naturally occurring in the outdoors.

Different Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes?

Although the mosquitoes released are still GM, they aren’t exactly the same as the more well-known mosquitoes developed my Oxitec. Oxitec is a British company responsible for the creation of the genetically engineered mosquitoes containing a gene designed to kill themselves unless given an antibiotic known as tetracycline. The company created this internally manipulated insect to help control agricultural pests and reduce insect-borne diseases like dengue fever and malaria.