Since mosquitoes nest in standing water, you would think that droughts would slow down their spread. However, there are mosquito species such as the Culex tarsalis, which are able to thrive in dry conditions. In fact, the drier and hotter the weather, the better these disease-carrying mosquitoes fare.
Dry conditions mean that you see a decrease in the overall mosquito populations, especially those that prefer hot and wet conditions. However, this creates an opening for the mosquitoes that thrive in dry, hot weather.
Naturally, people’s first reaction when they notice that there are less mosquitoes is to lower their guard and stop using personal protective measures against mosquito bites, which is the worst thing you can do in this situation, since now you have to deal with mosquitoes which have a much higher rate of carrying infectious diseases such as the West Nile Virus. In fact, due to the hotter weather conditions that we’ve been experiencing in the last few years, West Nile Virus-carrying mosquitoes have proliferated in new geographic areas and the disease is starting to pop up in areas where it was never seen before.
The effects of this change in weather are expected to compound. If temperature change trends continue, winter may become warmer as well, with snow turning to rain, and preventing the formation of snow cover. Snow cover is essential for freshwater availability, and without it, we will have even drier summers, decreasing the number of mosquitoes that are able to breed in standing water, and increasing the number of disease-carrying mosquitoes that thrive in dry weather.
This, of course, will be worsened by the phenomenon we’ve mentioned previously, where people become complacent with their protective measures when they do not have to deal with mosquitoes regularly. Imagine having to wear mosquito repellent every day, when you barely see any mosquitoes outside.
However, this trend is still relatively young, and it will take many years until these mosquito populations become a major threat. Until then, we still have to deal with the regular old mosquitoes that bother us when we’re trying to enjoy a nice evening outside. If there is a large mosquito population on your property, odds are that you have an infestation. We can help you get rid of it. Contact us today if you would like to set up a pest control appointment for the mosquitoes in your yard, or if you have any questions about pest control.
