What’s Behind Minnesota’s ‘Very Unusual’ Lack Of Mosquitos This Summer?

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Have you noticed the mosquitos aren’t biting quite as much this year?

That’s because there aren’t as many of them, according to the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District. Dry weather, along with treatment, is keeping the mosquitos at bay.

MMCD crews set 150 weekly traps around the metro all summer long, and then tally up what they find in the lab.

“District wide we’re seeing lower mosquito numbers compared to what we usually see,” said Alex Carlson of the MMCD. “It’s been very unusual.”

Cattail mosquitos normally peak around this time of year, and experts say because the numbers are so low this summer, that actually means we’ll probably see the same thing next summer.

(credit: CBS)

“There’s not going to be as many adult mosquitos to lay eggs that’ll then hatch next year,” said Carlson.

But don’t get too excited.

“The floodwater mosquitos are still very dependent on rain and their eggs can survived unhatched for up to seven years, so if we have one rainy year, that’s all it takes,” said Carlson.

This is also the time of year when mosquitos carrying the West Nile virus pop up. The MMCD hasn’t found any yet, but another hot stretch on the way could change that.

“Because the Culex species that thrives during the end of the summer, they like that hot weather,” said Carlson. “So we still encourage people to wear their bug spray, cover up, try to avoid the peak feeding times, stuff like that.”

Source: CBS Minnesota