BATON ROUGE - Airplanes used to be a way that Baton Rouge would deal with mosquitos.

Dr. Michael Becker, the Director of the East Baton Rouge Mosquito Abatement and Rodent Control Board, says it is time to make a change. 

"With the fixed-wing aircraft, you just spray and with different winds, you never know where it's going to go. But with the helicopter, a lot more precision, a lot more accuracy, and we can get that chemical exactly where we want it to go," Becker said. 

The board approved a $5 million request to buy a helicopter for these exact reasons.

Randy Vaeth is the Assistant Director of the Mosquito and Rodent Control Board. He says there are 47 different types of mosquitoes in East Baton Rouge and that it is important to find ways to kill mosquitos because of the concern bites can cause. 

"Our job is to reduce the number of mosquitos in order to protect the people that live here, and so that's why it's so important for us to operate as efficiently as possible," Vaeth said. 

Using a helicopter to help with mosquito populations follows what St. Tammany has decided to do. Veath and Becker say using a helicopter is the way of the future to handle mosquitos and the public health concerns they can bring. 

"Mosquito control is always evolving, so you are always trying to come up with the latest and best technology. The new aircraft is exactly what is going to make that happen for us," Becker said.