Tag: Minnesota Mosquitos

Minnesota is enjoying a “boring” mosquito season thus far. Here’s what’s keeping them under control for now.

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mosquito on human skin

If you’ve noticed fewer mosquitoes so far this year, you’re not imagining it.  “Boring year so far,” said Alex Carlson, public affairs manager with the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District. He says dry conditions have prevented many of the floodwater mosquitoes that typically dominate Minnesota summers from hatching. “The end of the winter had a very low snowpack, so we didn’t see a lot of flooding in the early spring, and then it’s been very dry through most of May and early June so far,” Carlson said. Floodwater mosquitoes, which typically make up the bulk of Minnesota’s mosquito population, rely on rainfall and standing water to hatch.

“When we don’t get those rains, those eggs just build up and they don’t hatch,” Carlson said. Not all mosquitoes have disappeared, however. “There are some species that are not as dependent on rain that will still be out in regular numbers,” Carlson said. Still, the species most people encounter have remained well below normal. The district monitors traps throughout the seven-county metro area, and last week’s collections have shown significantly fewer mosquitoes than usual. “The average across the district was about 15 times below the 10-year average for that particular week,” Carlson said. Despite the slow start, experts say mosquito season is far from over. “There’s always time for mosquitos to come back,” Carlson said. Rain in the weeks ahead could quickly change the outlook. “If we do see rains in the coming weeks then those numbers will start to rebound,” Carlson said. The district says residents can help limit mosquito breeding by removing standing water around their homes, including in buckets, bird baths and other containers where mosquitoes can lay eggs.

Source: Minnesota is enjoying a “boring” mosquito season thus far. Here’s what’s keeping them under control for now. – CBS Minnesota

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139:23-24

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