Expert: Worst Mosquito Season In 20 Years
DETROIT (WWJ) - Are you doing a lot of scratching these days? You're not alone.
WWJ's Sandra McNeill spoke with Michigan State University Entomologist Ned Walker who says that this is the worst mosquito season we've seen in years. Walker is part of a team keeping track of the numbers.
It's the worst season in quite a few years, in fact...according to Walker.
"I think this is the highest mosquito population we've seen, probably in about 20 years," said Walker, the bug expert.
"We've had a large series of weather patterns moving through the southern part of the state, resulting in inches of rainfall within 24-48 hours - periods of time and that has caused flooding of low-lying areas, such as wet meadows, road side ditches," said Walker.
And those are places where mosquitos breed.
Even if you have done everything you could to avoid being bitten, you may still get a few bites! Walker says it's best "to definitely use some sort of formulation that is a cream or lotion formulation instead of the spray, they should not allow the children to apply them, the parent should apply them on to the children ... so it doesn't get into their eyes, and so they don't ingest it."
While most mosquitos are simply irritating to us, for our pets they can be deadly. It's important to protect your dog from the effects of mosquito bites with heartworm medication.
While there are far more mosquitos out there right now, the good news is...these are not the West Nile Virus carriers.
The West Nile Virus carrying mosquitos will be along in about three weeks.
