Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Cold, snowy winter doesn't necessarily translate to less mosquitoes

Despite many expressing the feeling that a prolonged cold winter like the one we recently experienced, along with a lot of snow means less mosquito populations once warmer weather arrives. People have generally felt that Michigan's mild winters have made it possible for mosquito larvae to hold over during winter months, developing into those bugs we swat at once good weather arrives.
"That's very optimistic," Howard Russell, entomologist at M.S.U. said. The deterring factor is the amount of standing water that is around.
"With all of the snow we've had this past winter, much of it will melt and collect in low-lying areas making for breeding grounds and the generation of larvae and future mosquito populations," he said.
Your best defense has been and still is get rid of any standing water on your property. Look for water collecting in old tires or in eves troughs. Keep the eves clean.
Use products with DEET in them and try to stay out of areas that hold mosquitoes near dusk. Cover up with long pants and long-sleeve shirts and a hat.
Children should have products with less than 30% DEET applied to any unprotected areas.
See, there are some advantages to winter; no bugs!

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