MINNEAPOLIS — Spring usually signals warmer weather, but with heavy snow this winter and the possibility of upcoming rain in the forecast, there's a concern for an influx of mosquitos this season.
"We’re likely going to see more than the past two years," said Alex Carlson, with the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District, which covers the seven-county metro area for mosquito control and tick bourne disease surveillance.
Around this time of year – he says it’s normal to find mosquito larvae in the water, even though it may be a while before they emerge as adult mosquitoes. But so far – that hasn’t happened.
"We normally find our first larvae in the water during mid-March, just looking back to 10 years and then they start coming out of the water in mid-May. We have not found our first larvae yet, so we are out on the hunt," he said.
And with the forecast projecting more rain in the spring forecast - it could make for the perfect habitat for mosquitos, producing numbers far higher than the previous two years of drought.
"When Minnesota winters start to wind down, the snow melts, temps rise, and the two things we look for are precipitation and temperatures, and when we see a lot of spring rain that is going to contribute to some of those eggs that are out there, that hatch and the mosquitoes will end up in the water," he said.
Carlson also spoke on why the search for larvae is key: "Figuring out if the larvae is there and if it's there we can get an idea of how big they are, what stage they may be at, to get an idea of when we can do treatments to make sure they are not coming out of the water in too big of numbers," he said.
He's giving advice to homeowners and businesses, to keep mosquitos away. "Remove any standing water, there's going to be a lot as the snow melts," he said.
The MMCD is also warning people about ticks, which it says can emerge as early as next week.
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