Last night, I joined NEWSMAX to discuss Google’s shocking plan to release 64 million lab-grown, Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes into neighborhoods across Florida and California. The proposal is being pitched as a way to suppress mosquito populations and reduce West Nile virus transmission.
Florida had just six confirmed West Nile virus cases in all of 2025. Six. California reported more cases, but still within the type of year-to-year fluctuations the state has experienced for decades. This is not some catastrophic public health emergency that justifies mass experimentation.
Google should stick to web browsers instead of conducting one of the largest open-air biological experiments in U.S. history that could result in irreversible ecological disruptions.
There are several major risks here:
First, mosquitoes are not just pests. They are part of local ecosystems. Birds, bats, frogs, and fish rely on mosquitoes and mosquito larvae as food. When you aggressively suppress an entire species at this scale, you are tinkering with a food chain that evolved over thousands of years. Once you alter ecological balance, unintended consequences can follow quickly.
Second, eliminating or severely suppressing one mosquito species does not mean the problem magically disappears. Other invasive species can fill that ecological niche. We could very easily end up trading one problem for another — potentially one we understand even less.
Google already tested this in Fresno, California, in 2018. Mosquito populations dropped temporarily — but when the releases stopped, the mosquitoes came roaring back.
In other words, it seems Google would like to sell subscription services for mosquito releases.
This is the world we live in now….
We already have proven and reversible mosquito control tools. We do not need Big Tech companies experimenting on ecosystems with no off-switch.
The public comment period on the EPA proposal ends Friday, June 5th. To help sop this experiment, you can leave a comment here.
Epidemiologist and Foundation Administrator, McCullough Foundation
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