By: Biftu Osman

As the weather began warming up, there has been a sky rocketing rise of mosquitoes in Minnesota. The big question is: Why are there so many mosquitoes this year compared to the past few years?

Mosquitos are born in water and typically live in moist and dark places. Due to the large amount of rainfall, and all the snow melt from this past winter season, mosquitoes have been given the perfect weather to breed and thrive in.

The Metropolitan Mosquito Control District predicts; “…this season is the biggest for mosquitoes in more than two years. Water samples are showing high counts of larva ready to blossom into bite-ready adults.”

The most common mosquito type in Minnesota is the floodwater mosquito. Their eggs can last as long as 7 years and due to the drought these past few years, they haven’t been hatching much.

This summer, due to the flooding in the Mississippi River, all the past year’s eggs as well as this year’s eggs are all hatching. Once floodwater mosquito eggs are placed in water, it only takes them about a week to be fully developed and hatched.

The Metropolitan Mosquito Control District says on the average peak days of summer, they receive around 100 calls a day in complaints about mosquito swarms. This season they’ve received around 350 calls in just one day.

The biggest hot spots where mosquitos have been thriving this year are in the Twin Cities area. Specifically, the big bodies of water like the Mississippi River and Minnesota River.

Although the mosquito situation this season makes it seem inevitable to get bitten by mosquitos, there’s multiple strategies to try and prevent it. One of the most effective ways to treat mosquito bites is using insect repellent.

If you’ve already been bitten, some efficient techniques to treat it are rubbing it with an ice cube/ice pack or applying anti-itch cream/lotion.