Get Ready for the Mosquitoes

If April showers bring May flowers, what do June showers bring? Lots of mosquitoes!

So far this summer, with the dry weather conditions, the mosquitoes haven't been too bad. That will probably chance dramatically in the next couple of weeks.

Mosquitoes need standing water to breed. With our drought-like conditions, there hasn't been a lot of standing water for them. However, with lots of rain over the last couple of days and for most of this week, they will now have an abundance of breeding grounds.

It doesn't take much water either. Just a cap from a bottle of water or soda filled with water can be enough for thousands of mosquitoes to hatch. Stop and think about all the standing water that could be located around your house...

Saucers beneath your potted plants
Bird baths
Empty buckets
Clogged rain gutters
Ponds
Bowls of water left out for pets
Kids pools
Trash cans
Pool covers

Be sure to empty out that standing water. Once you empty the water, scrub out the items as well. Mosquito eggs can survive even after being dried out for up to 8 months! Once these dried eggs are covered with water again, the eggs can hatch and will become adult mosquitoes within a week. And this cycle continues very quickly. Mosquitoes breed just 28 hours after the adult emerges!

After last week's rain, all those eggs that may have been sitting around waiting for water will be hatching and adult mosquitoes will be emerging later this week. Keep the bug spray handing for your 4th of July outdoor celebrations!

Last week, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announced that their collection sites in Bay, Oakland, and Saginaw have tested positive for Jamestown Canyon virus. Mosquitoes also carry Eastern Equine Encephalitis and the West Nile virus.

And mosquitoes aren't the only problem Michigan is having with bugs. In parts of Michigan, biting flies have become an issue.

Empty the standing water and keep that bug spray nearby to help prevent an itchy, scratchy summer.

On a side note, who remembers "The Mosquitoes" in concert on "Gilligan's Island"?