VOLUSIA COUNTY MOSQUITO CONTROL


FOUNDED 1937


FIRST HELICOPTER Bell 47 in 1965


CURRENT HELICOPTERS Bell 206L-4, MDHI MD 520N


TREATMENT AREA 537 mi2


/1,391 km2 DIRECTOR Suzanne Bartlett


CHIEF PILOT Paul Leone


The (Partial) Solution When intervention is required, people and equipment can be mobilized for attack on foot, by truck, or by air. If helicopters are part of the plan, a lot of planning goes into those operations. Sophisticated computer programs are used to plot the areas needing treatment,


and then exact fl ight paths are calculated to deliver the proper dose of materials, whether dry or liquid, depending on altitude, humidity, and prevailing winds. Those fl ight paths are loaded into dedicated avionics systems that control and track the fl ow of materials, overlaying that data with the track of the aircraft. Mosquito larvae need water to grow and develop into adulthood, which means


they are easier to target than adult, fl ying mosquitoes. The favored weapon is a bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti), that, when ingested by the larvae, leads to a rupturing of their digestive tracts, killing them. Besides mosquitoes, Bti is injurious to only a couple other species of insects that, coincidentally, also spread


54 ROTOR SEPTEMBER 2021


Above: Volusia County began using helicopters for mosquito control 56 years ago, earlier than the others included in this essay, and currently flies both an MD 520N and, shown here, a Bell 206L-4 LongRanger.


Right: In contrast to Volusia, Anastasia Mosquito Control is the newest helicopter- operating program in the state, fielding its first of, now, three Bell 206B-3 aircraft just three years ago. Here, the crew calibrates their spray system, using mineral oil as a substitute for actual adulticide.


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