Forecast: May mosquito boom

You knew they would get here sooner or later. This year, it looks like you'd better brush up on your mosquito swatting move sooner.

[image]

This spring's weather pattern is setting up just right for an early onslaught of what some not so lovingly call our Minnesota state bird, the mosquito.

Several factors have lined up to create what could be an early boom in mosquito numbers this year.

-Unseasonably warm weather in March and April

-A wet start to May has led to ample rainfall and plenty of standing water.

-A pattern change to much warmer weather in the next two weeks will likely lead to a large and early mosquito hatch.

Usually we can get through the Memorial Day holiday with limited numbers of mosquitoes in these parts. The real boom in mosquito numbers usually comes in early June and lasts about a month until numbers begin to fall in mid to late summer.

This year everything from ice out to lilac blooms are occurring 2 to 3 weeks earlier than average. With the weather patterns the way they are, it's a good bet to assume we'll see a healthy crop of mosquitoes in late May this year, as opposed to early June.

The Twin Cities Metropolitan Mosquito Control District has a cool interactive tracker with records of larva activity and treatments for your neighborhood. You can keep track of breeding sites and how they are being treated.

Metropolitan Mosquito Control District map shows breeding areas

(orange outlines) in the Minnetonka area.

It pays to use bug spray these days with so many mosquito borne illness.

I hope you'll really enjoy the "bug free" warm up over the next week to 10 days. It won't be long until our least favorite summer visitor fills the sky on summery evenings.

PH