This Hawaii Flight Isn’t For You. And That’s A Good Thing

If you’ve seen the headlines about mosquitoes being dropped from the sky in Hawaii, you’re not alone. Visitors have been inquiring lately about whether this is something to be concerned about, given the extensive news coverage the topic has received.

With all the usual questions about bugs in Hawaii, such as how severe they are, when they bite, and what diseases they might carry, this latest story sounds like it could make things worse. But it turns out this unusual mosquito flight is happening without you on board, and it’s actually good news.

The mosquitoes being released aren’t the ones that bite.

Let’s start here: the mosquitoes being dropped into Hawaii’s forests by drone are lab-reared, non-biting males. They won’t go after your ankles at dinner, and they’re not showing up in your hotel room at sunrise. In other words, they don’t want your blood. These mosquitoes have one job, and it has nothing to do with visitors.

Each male is infected with a naturally occurring bacterium that prevents him from producing viable offspring when he mates with a wild female. That’s the entire plan. No pesticides, no disease risk, no interest in people. Just mosquito population control using a bit of biology.

Most of this is happening in areas that Hawaii visitors rarely visit.

The drones aren’t flying over beaches, pools, or tourist neighborhoods. They’re being used in high-elevation native forest areas on Maui and Kauai. These are remote places accessible only to conservation teams, hikers with permits, and native birds on the brink of extinction. Most visitors will never go anywhere near them.

Even if you were nearby, you wouldn’t know. The mosquitoes being released don’t bite, and the pods that carry them are designed to break open in the forest canopy and vanish. You’re far more likely to be buzzed by a noisy helicopter tour than by one of these drones.

Yes, Hawaii also has real mosquitoes, and they do love fresh visitor blood.

This project isn’t changing that. Hawaii already has mosquitoes, and many visitors have experienced itchy ankles after hikes in wet or jungle areas. These biting mosquitoes are especially active in places with standing water, lush vegetation, or after periods of rain.

Visitors often ask us why they get bitten more than their travel companions. Some of it is personal chemistry. Some of it is location. And some of it is just bad luck. We’ve covered mosquito bite differences in the past and also how to minimize bites while traveling.

To be clear, the mosquitoes being released from drones are not at all the same ones that bite you. This isn’t a new wave of pests heading toward your vacation. It’s a targeted conservation tactic taking place in the mountains, far from vacation zones.

So why are visitors seeing these headlines?

That’s the strange part. CNN, Smithsonian, Vox, and other media outlets covered the story of the drone release. None of them, however, wrote it from the Hawaii visitor’s perspective. They focused on the science, the birds, and the tech. The result is that many people who saw the headline assumed that mosquitoes are being released all over Hawaii. Some may have wondered if it’s safe to visit these areas at all.

The truth is less dramatic and far more specific. This project aims to protect rare native birds that inhabit only Hawaii’s highest forests. It’s a conservation move, not a pest control campaign. And it isn’t making your Hawaii vacation any itchier.

If anything, this story serves as a reminder of how fragile and unique Hawaii’s ecosystems are. The birds being protected don’t live near your hotel. But they’re part of what makes Hawaii feel rare—and easy to lose if we’re not paying attention.

What about mosquito-borne diseases in Hawaii?

This is another area where confusion can spread easily. Visitors sometimes worry about Zika or malaria in Hawaii. In general, the risk is extremely low. The kind of mosquito that transmits Zika, dengue, and chikungunya is present in Hawaii, but outbreaks are extremely rare and closely monitored.

When Zika was making headlines in Hawaii recently, it caused a wave of concern among travelers. We wrote our guidance for Hawaii visitors following Zika found on Oahu at the time to help put things in perspective. That advice still holds: use mosquito repellent when needed, especially on trails and after rain, but there is no reason to panic on a broad scale.

Avian malaria, which is the disease this drone program is targeting, affects only birds and not people. That’s why these mosquitoes are being released in bird habitats, not in urban areas.

Will this actually help the situation?

For visitors? Probably not in a direct way. Hawaii’s other mosquitoes aren’t going away anytime soon. This program isn’t about clearing hotel courtyards or trailheads of bugs. It’s about last-ditch efforts aimed at preserving some of the rarest birds in the world that exist only on these islands.

But there’s something worth considering here. The idea that Hawaii is trying to solve a very serious conservation problem with precision rather than pesticides is a shift. Instead of spraying vast swaths of land or wiping out everything that flies, the drone release uses nature against itself in a way that’s targeted, low-impact, and entirely invisible to visitors.

Whether or not it works long-term remains to be seen. But it won’t affect your vacation either way, and it’s not a threat to your health or comfort.

Bottom line: it’s a mosquito flight you’re not invited to.

And that’s a good thing. The mosquitoes flying over Hawaii right now aren’t biting, breeding, or bothering anyone with an airline boarding pass. They’re part of a niche solution to a niche problem, and they’re not looking for your sunscreen-slicked legs.

So if you see a drone headline or hear a rumor about mosquitoes being released across the islands, know this: yes, it’s happening. But no, it has nothing to do with you. You’re safe, you’re not the target, and this is one Hawaii flight you don’t need to worry about.