Why can’t we just get rid of mosquitoes? One fed-up community is trying | CNN

Michelle Mingrone was sick of being a mosquito’s blood meal. For the avid gardener in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, DC, stepping out the front door in the summer meant being assaulted by hordes of those flying hypodermic needles, ready to bore into her skin and leave itchy welts – and sometimes serious infections like malaria or Zika – behind. “They’re intolerable. You cannot be outside,” Mingrone said. “I grew up in the woods. I want my kids to be outside, and every year it is so frustrating that we just can’t be outside because of the mosquitoes.” She reached out to the local government in February and learned one full-time specialist oversees the district’s summer mosquito operation, with help on an as-needed basis. If their yards were going to get less buggy, she realized that she and her neighbors would need to take on the job themselves. Mingrone wrote a post on a local parenting listserv in March. It began, “Hi neighbors. Mosquito season is nearly upon us, and I’m determined to do something about it this year.” Spraying is a temporary solution that may help a bit, Mingrone notes, but it also kills a lot of beneficial insects like bees

Jun 19, 2026 → Jul 5, 2026