US mosquito spraying backfires as insects evolve resistance across 84% blocks

In many parts of the eastern United States, getting rid of mosquitoes has become just another household service. Homeowners hire private companies to spray their yards, or they buy insecticides and foggers themselves, hoping to reclaim summer evenings from constant bites. But new research from North Carolina State University suggests those choices may be quietly helping mosquitoes adapt and survive the very chemicals meant to kill them.Two linked studies, one on how resistance emerges and spreads and another on the social patterns behind it, focus on the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus). This invasive species is now common across much of the eastern U.S., and it’s a major daytime biter in the Southeast.