Vaccinating Mosquitoes?

According to Debbie Hadley of About.com Guide:
Mosquitoes are the deadliest animals on Earth.
That's right, more deaths are associated with mosquitoes than any other animal on the planet. Mosquitoes may carry any number of deadly diseases, including malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, and encephalitis. Mosquitoes also carry heartworm, which can be lethal to your dog. 

   Vaccinating Mosquitoes Can Ward Off Malaria by Jesse Emspak in Popular Science Magazine September 2013 issue.  It’s not the mosquito’s fault.  Malaria is actually caused by the Plasmodium family of parasites, which is carried unwittingly by mosquitoes.  John Hopkins biologist Rhoel Dinglasan’s team has found this Plasmodium, at a critical stage in its life cycle, needs to bind to a particular protein in the mosquito.  Blocking this protein will block transmission to humans!  But, how do you treat a mosquito… with a tiny little needle?  Here is the clever solution: vaccinate humans against this protein creating living mosquito treatment factories for years by the immune systems producing antibodies against that protein.  Thus when a mosquito bites a vaccinated human, it will suck up the antibodies blocking the protein and thereby preventing the mosquito from passing along the malaria disease!!!  Of course, at this point, this remains only a hypothesis and mosquito bites would be no less annoying.

After my 25 years of Integrated Pest Management techniques and more traditional pest control practices, I think this vaccination idea is not so practical.  I suggest that we just get rid of the mosquitoes.

What Doesn't Work for Controlling Mosquitoes

Despite what your friends tell you, some popular mosquito control methods have no significant impact on keeping mosquitoes in check. According to Wayne J. Crans, Associate Research Professor in Entomology at Rutgers University, these often-touted mosquito solutions are not worth your time or money.

1.    Bug zappers. Though the satisfying sizzle you hear from this modern day insect torture device will convince you it's working, don't expect much relief from backyard mosquitoes. According to Crans, biting insects (including mosquitoes) generally make up less than 1% of the bugs zapped in these popular devices. Many beneficial insects, on the other hand, do get electrocuted.

2.    Citrosa plants. While citronella oil does have proven mosquito-repellent properties, the genetically-modified plants sold for this purpose do not. In tests by researchers, the test subjects bitten as often while surrounded by the Citrosa plants as without them. In fact, mosquitoes were observed landing on the leaves of Citrosa plants during the study.

3.    Bats and/or purple martins. While both bats and the colonial purple martins will consume mosquitoes, the offending insects make up a small percentage of their natural diet. Assertions about these insectivores being effective mosquito controls grew out of misrepresented and misinterpreted data from unrelated studies. While providing habitat for bats and purple martins has its value, don't do it if only to reduce your mosquito populations.

4.    Electronic devices that transmit sounds to mimic male mosquitoes or dragonflies do not work. Crans goes so far as to suggest "the claims made by distributors border on fraud." Enough said.

So, what can we do?

    1. If you want to keep  mosquitoes under control around your home, you  need to be vigilant about dumping any standing water  every few days.  Just a few inches of water is all it takes for a female to deposit her eggs. Tiny mosquito larva develop quickly in bird baths, roof gutters, thrash can lids, and old tires dumped in vacant lots.

    2. Avoid going outdoors between dust and dawn.

    3. Use mosquito repellents like DEET.

    4. Insecticides can be used to help control mosquitoes.  Some products are designed to be applied directly to water to control mosquito larvae, while others are used more broadly to control the adult mosquito.

    5. Community, city or county agencies provide control as a service to the public and may apply pesticides by trucks or planes.