Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/356321
generate antibodies to fight the infections. If antibodies show up in routine testing, health officials can warn residents to avoid mosqui- toes, and mosquito control units can better focus their efforts on the areas near the loca- tions of the affected birds. The technique is not new. Sarasota County, along with other counties in Florida, has been using it for more than 30 years. This is the middle of peak season for mos- quitoes — which runs from May to October — and the sentinel chickens are just one of the approaches used to keep the insects, and the diseases they can carry, in check. The county is also implementing cutting-edge technology to combat mosquitoes, such as a device that uses ultrasonic sound (18 to 30 KHz) to kill mosquito larvae without the use of chemicals. The device costs around $7,000, and it is part of Smith's effort to make Sarasota County's mosquito management "as environmentally friendly as possible." Smith showed a Sarasota News Leader reporter Wednesday morning, July 30, how the device worked, turning it on and dip- ping it into the creek behind his office. Fish appeared to swim round it unaffected. The ultrasonic device costs around $7,000, and it is part of Smith's effort to make mosquito management 'as environmentally friendly as possible.'` Sarasota News Leader August 1, 2014 Page 27