Disease busters Twenty-first century mosquito control THERE'S A WAR GOING ON IN SOUTH FLORIDA. An army of highly skilled aviators is flying battle-ready helicopters and airplanes at all hours of the day and night, supported by a team of engineers. They're all working to combat a worthy foe-the mosquito. Mosquito netting, quinine water, smoke oil belched from trucks-you name it, they tried it. It was not until the mid-1950s that an engineer named T. Wayne Miller unified the Lee County Mosquito Control District (LCMCD). First, his group discovered which bugs carried disease (called the "vector"). Then they learned where the critters laid eggs, how the bugs matured, and when and where they flew. Finally, researchers realized that the best method for killing adults was to hit the mosquitos with a chemical mist while they flew. Aerial application was the best way to make that happen. BY AMY LABODA PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS ROSE VIDEO EXTRA View the video. 64 | AOPA PILOT April 2015