Helicopters apply granular or liquid larvicides with precision, spreading granules over natural habitats and spraying fine mist over residential areas—to target mosquito larvae quickly, safely, and efficiently where they develop.

1. Granular Larvicide Applications Via Helicopter (Daytime)

• When it’s used: To target larvae in wetlands, ditches, floodplains, and marshes after rainfall or tidal events, or as a preventive treatment before eggs hatch.
• How it works: A granular larvicide is spread from specialized hoppers mounted on either side of the helicopter. These granules must fall through vegetation and reach the water where mosquito larvae are present.
• Flight pattern: To ensure accuracy, the helicopter flies at low altitudes using steep, rapid turns (called ag-turns), to ensure precise and complete coverage. This is a standard and safe aviation technique used in mosquito control.
• Efficiency & automation: A bulk auto-loading system is used to quickly and safely refill the hoppers with insecticide material between flights. This minimizes manual handling, reduces downtime, and ensures a consistent, uninterrupted application, allowing for fast and thorough area-wide treatment while minimizing environmental disturbance.
• What you might see: A low-flying helicopter making tight, sweeping turns over large natural areas.

2. Liquid Larvicide Applications Via Helicopter (Daytime)

• When it’s used: In urban and residential areas to control Aedes aegypti, a container-breeding mosquito that can transmit dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and Yellow Fever.
• How it works: A liquid mix (usually water and Bti, a natural larvicide) is sprayed from a tank mounted to the helicopter’s underside. Special nozzles on boom sprayers produce droplets small enough to settle into small, often hidden water-holding containers around homes (like flowerpots or rain gutters).
• What you might see: A helicopter spraying mist over residential neighborhoods during daylight hours.

To support fast-paced operations, helicopter hoppers are refilled using a bulk auto-loading system. This advanced equipment streamlines refueling, reduces human handling of insecticide, and ensures the helicopter can return to the air quickly with properly calibrated material, reducing downtime and increasing treatment coverage with every mission.