Mosquito Alert STL seeks to find which mosquitos are thriving and exactly where throughout the St. Louis area.

Citizen scientists can join the “SWAT team” by downloading the Mosquito Alert app. All they have to do is snap a photo of a mosquito, swat the mosquito for their safety, then upload photos of the mosquitos and potential mosquito breeding sites. Citizens can even report mosquito bites!

Users of the app will be better able to identify the types of mosquitos they encounter and help local health officials protect communities from the threat of mosquito-borne illnesses.

Saint Louis University professor Ricardo Wray, on the faculty at the College for Public Health and Social Justice, is on the Mosquito Alert STL’s project team. Wray is studying the project’s communication and education efforts as they relate to achieving public health goals.