Volusia buys new helicopter to fight mosquitoes

Mosquitoes in Volusia County will soon have another threat from the sky.

The county's Mosquito Control division recently added a single-engine helicopter to its arsenal to fight the pesky, blood-sucking insects. Director Jim McNelly said the helicopter will help the phase out one of the two aging helicopters currently in the fleet. The helicopter cost the county $2.8 million.

The helicopter will help Mosquito Control cover more than 50,000 acres of salt marsh that can be a heavy breeding ground for mosquitoes, which have been "average" so far this year, McNelly said. If mosquito larvae are found, the helicopter will make an insecticide application to about 100 acres at a time. 

Painted yellow to give it increased visibility when flying through areas of dense brush and in low-light, the helicopter also does not have a tail rotor to prevent run-ins with birds and other animals and thus increasing the safety of the pilot, McNelly said.

One of the other helicopters will be sold at some point to defray the cost of the new helicopter, McNelly said.