Planes Are Spraying Several Michigan Counties to Kill Mosquitoes

If COVID-19 is not enough to worry about, us Michiganders also have to deal with Eastern Equine Encephalitis from mosquitoes, too.

Earlier this year there were some reports of West Nile cases due to mosquito bites in Michigan but COVID-19 pretty much stole the news since that was back during the shutdown.

For the past few months there has been an uptick in cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis which has been found in mostly animals but there is a human case that has been found in Michigan as well.

According to WOOD, the increased cases of EEE found in horses and now even deer has led to planes doing aerial spraying over several counties across Michigan.

If you know the planes are in your area, you may want to stay inside as a precaution.

I live in the country and have hung up some tree stands the last two weekends and noticed a few mosquitoes even in the middle of the day. I always wear pants and long sleeved shirts when I'm out this time of year because sometimes the mosquitos can really make looking at my trail cameras not as pleasant. I dress my son the same way in order to protect him. If they are really bad we just turn around.

If you have little kids out playing, even if you live in the city, during times that mosquitoes are active, it wouldn't hurt to put on some mosquito repellant to help protect them.

Even though the temperatures have cooled off a bit and we had one minor frost, it is nowhere near good enough to kill off the bulk of the mosquitoes. We need a really good frost or two and some cooler temperatures to lower the threat of EEE.

WOOD spoke with Michigan Department of Health and Human Services chief medical executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun and he said,

We are continuing to see animal cases of EEE rise, increasing the urgency for treatment to continue as we know the mosquitoes carrying this potentially deadly virus are still active in our state.

One human (in Barry County), two deer and 30 horses have all tested positive for EEE.

Here is a list of the Michigan counties that are getting the spraying: