The Swedish government is to come to the rescue of those plagued by mosquitoes in the summer by bombing the blood thirsty bugs from the air with pesticide. Dalälven in central Sweden is one of the places that will receive the air-bound aid after residents complained that the growing problem is making their summers unbearable.
“People fare very badly when there are so many mosquitoes,” environmental minister Lena Ek told the Aftonbladet newspaper, adding that helicopters will cover the whole municipality in pesticide.
Mosquitoes are considered to be a plague in Sweden when more than 5,000 are caught in a trap in a single night, as was the case in Dalälven last year. Although residents are welcoming the blanket bombing, some fear the beastly bugs may build up a resistance to the chemicals and come back stronger than ever.
“But one must be careful and keep checking that we don’t start seeing a resistance to the pesticides… We will be testing against this,” Ek told the paper. “It’s clear that the people who live there [Dalälven] are worried, and we’re trying to do this as well as we possibly can for them,” she added.
Vectobar G, a biodegradable pesticide, will also be sprayed over Sandviken, Älvkarleby, Sala, Gävle Heby and Tierps, while other municipalities can opt in if they wish.