'Continuous buzzing': East Coast residents say NEA released too many male Aedes mosquitoes into estate

In the past two months, some East Coast residents have been plagued by swarms of mosquitoes flying around their estate. 

The increase of mosquitoes in the area are a result of Project Wolbachia, an initiative by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to fight dengue. 

Launched in 2016, Project Wolbachia involves releasing male Aedes mosquitoes carrying the Wolbachia bacteria into residential areas.

Since then, NEA said it has noted up to 98 per cent suppression of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and up to 88 per cent fewer dengue cases at study sites where Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes have been released for at least a year.

However, that's cold comfort to some residents at Opera Estate frustrated about the increased mosquito population in the area, and have taken things into their own hands. 

A resident surnamed Wang, told Shin Min Daily News on Thursday (Dec 14) that she noticed an increase in the number of mosquitoes in her estate since last April. 

While she believes that the project will reduce the transmission of dengue fever, she feels that their 'continuous buzzing' in her ears is a nuisance.

"There have been so many mosquitoes that I've had to buy a mosquito racket to kill them," complained the 65-year-old. 

Another resident Sunil Kumar Sharma wrote to The Straits Times last week saying how the release has been done a number of times, thus resulting in a swarm of these male mosquitoes in houses in the neighbourhood.

"These mosquitoes hide in dark corners and many are seen settling on the toilet bowl and flying around in the house. I had to buy many mosquito containers to trap them and manage the problem," added this resident.

One resident surnamed Wei told Shin Min that he's noticed more than 10 mosquitoes flying around the dimmer areas of his home in the past two or three months. 

To combat the problem, he purchased electric mosquito swatters for his home, and a large tin of mosquito oil. 

He told Shin Min that he was not aware of Project Wolbachia.

"I think the authorities should at least hand out leaflets to residents in the area informing them about the number, timing and other details about the project," he suggested.

Male Aedes mosquitoes don't bite: NEA

Responding to an inquiry from Shin Min, the NEA said that they have been distributing leaflets to inform residents about the details of the mosquito releases, which are also available on their website.

The agency also said that Project Wolbachia was implemented in the private residential areas in Marine Parade since April 2022, with scheduled mosquito releases on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. 

NEA also assured members of the public that the males Aedes mosquitoes do not bite and therefore cannot transmit diseases. 

The NEA recently announced in November that they would roll Project Wolbachia out to five additional sites: Bukit Merah to Telok Blangah, Clementi to West Coast, Commonwealth, Holland and Marine Parade to Mountbatten, increasing the coverage to 480,000 households in Singapore.

ALSO READ: Risk of surge in dengue cases as previously dominant virus strain rapidly spreading: NEA

shaocong.neo@asiaone.com