Sagunto releases 700,000 sterile mosquitoes to fight tiger mosquito
The regional Agriculture department and the city council have resumed releasing sterile male mosquitoes at Triángulo Umbral, Plaza Cronista Chabret and Plaza de l'Aljub until December.
Mayor Darío Moreno and health councillor Javier Timón presented the project alongside technical staff from Tragsa, the public works company running it. The method breeds and sterilises tiger mosquito males using radiation; when they mate with wild females, the eggs never hatch, so no chemicals or pesticides are needed. Only females bite, so releasing males poses no risk to residents. Releases will alternate three and two times a week, at a rate of 2,400 sterile males per hectare and 18,528 per week, covering about 7.72 hectares weekly until early December. Monitoring traps have also been installed and will remain in place until the end of the year. Timón stressed that residents' cooperation is essential, since public authorities can act in public spaces but not inside homes. The programme began in 2017, and a pilot run between 2018 and 2020 cut mosquito populations by 70-80%, leading to its expansion to other towns across the Valencian Community. In Sagunto, it has run since June 2024 at the same three locations.