Sagunto Resumes Sterile Mosquito Releases to Control Tiger Mosquito
The Valencian agriculture ministry has restarted Sagunto's tiger mosquito biological control programme for the third consecutive year, releasing sterilised male insects across three city locations.
For the third year running, Sagunto takes part in a biological campaign against the tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), a species capable of spreading dengue fever and chikungunya. The programme, run by the Conselleria d'Agricultura (Valencian regional agriculture ministry), targets three city spots — Triángulo Umbral, Plaza Cronista Chabret and Plaza de l'Aljub — with releases continuing until early December.
The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) turns the mosquito's own reproductive cycle into a control mechanism. Male mosquitoes are bred in laboratory conditions, rendered infertile through radiation and released in large numbers. When they mate with wild females, the resulting eggs fail to develop. This cycle, repeated every week with 18,528 specimens across 7.72 hectares, will see over 700,000 sterile males released across the campaign. The technique was first successfully documented in 1954, and its architects received the World Food Prize in 1992.
In 2025, reference municipalities in the programme recorded a mean 65 % drop in egg-laying, with reductions above 75 % during peak periods — preventing two in every three biting females from reproducing. Health councillor Javier Timón says the initiative improves residents' quality of life without any use of insecticides, according to Sagunto City Council.