The Economic Times

In 1997, University of Florida spent 10 years developing a mosquito diet pill. Today, larvae fed the hormone-treated algae starve within 72 hours, offering an eco-friendly way to fight disease-carrying pests

A University of Florida scientist developed a mosquito diet pill using a digestive hormone. This hormone is delivered through algae, which mosquito larvae consume and then cannot digest food. Mosquitoes ingesting the treated algae die within seventy-two hours from starvation. The synthesized hormone and algae are inexpensive and fade from the environment naturally.