Google requested federal approval to release 32 million sterilized mosquitoes in Florida and California in May. ORACLE GRAPHIC/AMARIS BAEZ

The Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing Google’s request for federal approval to release 32 million sterilized male mosquitoes throughout Florida and California. 

The project — called Debug — targets the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits multiple diseases including dengue, Zika and yellow fever, according to the World Mosquito Program.

Debug uses the Sterile Insect Technique, which releases sterile males to mate with females, resulting in unfertilized eggs that decrease the population generation by generation, according to the project website.

This method was developed in the 1950s and has been used as a form of pest control with other bugs, including fruit flies, screwworms and codling moths, according to Debug.

Still, the method has not worked on mosquitoes at a “large enough scale” for reduced disease transmission because the insect is “fragile,” according to Debug. 

Therefore, the project developed a six-step plan to raise, separate, release and monitor the mosquito population to track its use and effect with Wolbachia bacteria-infected mosquitoes.

Wolbachia is a naturally occurring, common bacterium that 50% of insect species carry, and is not harmful to the environment or to humans, though it prevents breeding, according to the World Mosquito Program.

USF professors and students said that while the methods are not new, the project raises questions about the safety, background and effects of reducing mosquito populations in the state.

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Chris Meindl, an associate professor of geography at USF, said the method of releasing sterilized mosquitoes is not new.

In Fort Myers in 2024, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Food and Agriculture Organization supported sterile mosquito releases to reduce mosquito populations.

“I think what makes the recent news story about Google different is because they’re greatly expanding the scale,” Meindl said.

There are more than 80 species of mosquitoes in Florida, and nearly a quarter of these species are considered public health threats due to the pathogens they may transmit, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Meindl said he is “suspicious” of efforts to decrease or eliminate mosquito species because of other animals that rely on them as a food source, such as dragonflies.

Still, he said that a benefit of releasing sterilized mosquitoes is that no toxic chemicals are being sprayed into the environment.

“I think the good news is [that] it’s not like we’re spraying chemicals that kill not just the target species, but that ends up killing lots of other things,” Meindl said.

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Katherine Drabiak is the interim chair of the Department of Health Policy and Systems Management at USF. 

Drabiak said Google’s proposal raises questions about how society views emerging biological technologies and what the risks of the technology are.

“I think it confronts society with difficult questions about what are the appropriate or inappropriate uses of certain types of technology,” Drabiak said. “Just because we have the technology, is it appropriate to use it? Is it prudent to use it?”

She said one risk of the proposal — as with any new or exploratory technology — is whether it will perform as intended or as promised.

Drabiak added that regulatory approval should not automatically be interpreted as proof that a product is completely safe.

“Simply because they allow something to enter into the market or to be produced does not mean that it’s safe,” she said.

Drabiak said some consequences and risks to the environment, such as whether the project will perform as intended, may not become apparent immediately, but may show in five to 10 years.

“The risk assessments are not complete, they’re partial,” Drabiak said. “Even if the [EPA] permits this type of release, that’s still based on a specific risk calculus that the public may not agree with.”

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Aryan Shah is a sophomore biology major and a graphic design artist for the Entomology Society at USF, which is a student organization dedicated to educating people about insects and conservation.

Shah said he is not particularly concerned about the proposal because similar mosquito control methods have been used before.

Mosquito control using the same method as Google decreased the number of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in communities in Texas and California, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“It’s a pretty common way to control mosquitoes,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it’s that dangerous of an idea because it only targets specific mosquito populations.”

Shah said one reason he is less concerned is that the technology targets a specific mosquito species rather than affecting mosquito populations broadly.

“It will only affect this one species of mosquito, which is also not native to Florida,” Shah said.

Shah added that reducing one mosquito population could invite another to take over the area. Since Aedes aegypti are non-native to Florida, Shah said he believes native species will overtake certain areas once populations decrease.

Shah said he finds it interesting to see the development and expansion of new pest control technologies increase through technology-based companies.

“I feel like this is something where you’re seeing a large company that owns a lot of science, and specifically like entomology, doing a bunch of that research…it’s interesting to see that increasing,” he said.