Bumper crop of mosquitoes expected

Get ready for a mosquito explosion in the Twin Cities this summer.

After years of dry summers, this year's wet weather is expected to make conditions ripe for a bumper crop of mosquitoes.

Spokesman Mike McLean of the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District says it may feel like there are two or three years' worth of mosquitoes out this summer.

Some mosquitoes lay their eggs on dry land, waiting for rain to flood the area, McLean said. Those eggs can last for two or three years if the weather is dry. And Minnesota is having its first rainy spring in a few years.

Mosquitoes usually hatch in large numbers before Memorial Day. But the pesky insects didn't come out until recently because of the long, cool spring.

On Friday, Brian Zeigler, east region foreman for the Mosquito Control District, was at Oakdale's Richard Walton Park, searching for mosquitoes.

Zeigler -- his boots to his knees and his hair down his back -- said he loves sloshing through swamps, counting larvae and killing mosquitoes. He said he can't drive past a swamp without thinking how he'll survey it for the blood-sucking pests.

"We go where the mosquitoes go," Zeigler said. He was inspecting the breeding grounds near the Oakdale park to try to make sure the city's Summerfest next weekend isn't ruined by mosquitoes.

McLean said the recent rain triggered another brood, so more mosquitoes are coming.

The Metropolitan Mosquito Control District tries to control the mosquito population by killing larvae. Workers drop larvae-killing bacteria and simulated hormones that stunt larvae's growth into the standing water where they grow. In small areas, it's done by hand, and in larger areas, by helicopter.

The district also sprays adult mosquitoes by hand with chemicals similar to the natural pesticides found in chrysanthemums.

Killing the bugs helps prevent the spread of diseases such as West Nile virus. But for now, most mosquitoes are freshly hatched and haven't had a chance to pick anything up.

The best way for homeowners to combat mosquitoes is to keep larvae out of the back yard. Containers, tires, birdbaths and wheelbarrows are spawning grounds if they aren't emptied, McLean said.

"If you clean it up now, it'll pay off later," McLean said.

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