LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Lee County Mosquito Control is using drones to reach areas they've never been able to access before, but some people are concerned about the aircraft flying near their properties.
Watch as Community Correspondent Anvar Ruziev speaks with drone experts about what you can do if a drone is over your property:
"It's helping us reach areas we've never been able to reach," said Jennifer McBride, Lee County Mosquito Control Communications Director.
The large drones have been getting noticed by people when flying close to their properties, and McBride said they've been calling in to find out what's going on, which is what she recommends when residents see the large drones.
Earlier this year, Florida legislature proposed a law that would allow property owners to take down drones over their property using reasonable force, but that law did not pass. McBride said taking down one of their drones would be a costly mistake.
"First of all we're not going to be flying over your property, we're not treating over your property, so I would say when in doubt, those drones are really expensive, that would be a big mistake to make. So we want to make sure everyone is aware," McBride said.
A $75,000 mistake to be exact, which is how much one of those drones cost. But it's not just the cost of the drone that would be a consequence.
Michael den Hartog, a Federal Aviation Administration safety counselor, explained the serious implications of interfering with drones.
"If you're going to shoot down a drone keep in mind that the penalty is going to be the same as shooting down a manned aircraft. If you were to use a pellet gun or something small to shoot down a drone, and you were to puncture the lithium ion battery, now you're going to have a drone that could cause a fire," den Hartog said.
So what should you do if a drone is hovering over your property?
"Call the police department, let the police department handle it. A lot of people especially here in Lee County and South Florida and the surrounding counties they have drone detection equipment whenever you take your drone and fly it they know within about two seconds they also know how far you're going with your drone they know where the operator is and they know how high it is," den Hartog said.
Last month Governor DeSantis signed a drone bill that bans modifying drones to avoid remote identification and increases penalties for flying drones over critical infrastructure. The law also allows police to use drones for crowd safety.
The new drone laws will go into effect on October 1st.
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