Mosquito control firm deploys ZAP males across DMV area

A Silver Spring mosquito control company is releasing 600,000 Wolbachia-infected male mosquitoes across the DMV through September.

Silver Spring firm scales releases

Bee Safe Mosquito Control, owned by Todd Montgomery, began putting the insects into the field in early June and plans to continue the work into September. Montgomery said the company expects 600,000 releases across the District, Maryland and Virginia in 2026, with a larger season possible next year.

Montgomery framed the rollout as a local first for a small business that started four years ago. He said, “We’re releasing 600,000 in total within the DMV for 2026,” adding, “Hopefully, we’ll increase that for next season.”

The service costs about $1,000, and Bee Safe has no openings left for the season. That sellout gives the company a full summer of customer sites to evaluate before deciding whether to widen availability next year.

Wolbachia turns males into biopesticide

The company is releasing male mosquitoes known as ZAP males, which carry Wolbachia, a gut bacterium used to interrupt reproduction. Male mosquitoes do not bite people, so the approach focuses on mating behavior rather than chemical spraying around yards.

When a ZAP male mates with a female mosquito, Montgomery said, the female can no longer produce viable offspring. “She’s going around laying eggs that will never hatch,” he said.

MosquitoMate in Kentucky supplies the insects, and the product has nationwide approval from the Environmental Protection Agency for use as a biopesticide. The method is still relatively new in the United States, but Montgomery pointed to overseas public-health programs as evidence that Wolbachia-based control can sharply reduce disease risk.

Montgomery said, “In parts of South America, they have reduced Dengue [fever] cases by over 98% using Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes.” He also said the release of males to curb a target population has been tested repeatedly across species.

Asian Tiger Mosquito drives demand

The local target is the Asian Tiger Mosquito, an aggressive species common in the Washington area. The species can carry Dengue Fever, Zika and Yellow Fever, making it a nuisance issue with public-health stakes during the region’s warm months.

Bee Safe is the only company offering the service in the region, according to Montgomery. He said, “We’re definitely the first in the DMV to do this,” calling the position unusual for a small Silver Spring business.

The company’s rollout sits alongside larger efforts using similar biology. Alphabet’s Debug program has plans to release up to 32 million Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes in California and Florida, showing how the same concept is moving from pilots into broader pest-control strategies.

If Bee Safe’s summer results show fewer viable eggs at customer properties, the company has a clear path to expand service next season. If suppression is uneven, the business may need tighter site selection, more releases or stronger coordination with conventional prevention steps that reduce standing water.

The wider industry will be watching cost, customer acceptance and regulatory confidence. For residents from Silver Spring to Capitol Hill, the practical question is whether a $1,000 biological service can deliver a noticeable reduction in biting mosquitoes during peak season.