Dry Weather May Provide Mosquito Relief in Minnesota

UNDATED (WJON News) -- The abnormally dry conditions in Minnesota may have one positive effect...mosquitoes don't like it.

Alex Carlson is a spokesman for the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District. He says the floodwater mosquito population exploded this spring thanks to deep snow over the winter season and some early rain showers.

Carlson says their samples show the mosquito population is significantly above the 10-year average and above the last two years as well. And, while this dry weather may soon provide us some relief, he says it likely won't last...

As soon as that rain does come it means they're going to be coming right back. I was just looking at the chart from 2020 (the last year we didn't have a drought) and we saw a big rain at the end of May that all of a sudden put us way above average with a big mosquito hatch. They're very rain dependent so if we don't see a lot of that we're gonna get some relief but, as soon as the rain does come, they'll come roaring right back.

Carlson says another piece of good news involves the cattail mosquito breed that hatches later this summer...

They're the ones that overwinter as larvae and then they come out usually right around the 4th of July in a big surge. But, because of the drought last year those eggs didn't hatch in as high numbers last fall. And, so based on our larval surveillance, we're not going to see as many of those coming out this summer. Unless we get a lot of rain right before the 4th of July, we shouldn't see the typical big mid-summer surge that we often see.

Some ways to guard against mosquitoes include using bug spray, wearing light-colored clothing, avoiding being outside in the mornings and evenings when they are the most active, and emptying any standing water on your property.

READ RELATED ARTICLES

Plant Some Of These In Your Idaho Garden to Keep Mosquitoes Away

As we previously told you, mosquitoes are the most dangerous creatures on earth. If you want to keep them away from you're yard, these plants can help!

Offbeat adventures: Travel to the coolest hidden wonders in every U.S. state

Fuel your offbeat travel dreams. Stacker found the coolest hidden wonders in all 50 U.S. states (plus D.C.) using data from Atlas Obscura.

[WARNING: Under no circumstances should you enter private or abandoned property. By doing so you risk bodily harm and/or prosecution for trespassing.]