Weekly Update – May 15th – Adult Mosquitoes Abundant in Anoka, Washington Counties; Black Flies Appear
May 22, 2023
Weekly Update – June 5th – Mosquito Numbers Remain High, First Positive WNV Sample
June 13, 2023
News stories have been coming out about the high mosquito activity at the end of May.
Mosquitoes are here and both our maps and our call data shows that they are high in certain areas.
Every Monday night starting in mid-May through September, the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District sets out a variety of mosquito and black fly traps throughout the district and employs a network of sweep net collections done by employees and volunteers. Any insects collected are brought back to our lab on Tuesday to be identified throughout the week with maps published to show current mosquito and black fly activity.
What a difference one week makes! After not a significant amount of adult mosquito activity in our first week or surveillance, the May 22nd night of CO2 traps and sweep net collections showed a significant increase, especially in a few hot spots throughout the metro. Some of the high activity areas included northern parts of Anoka and Washington County, southern Ramsey County in St. Paul, and the border of Scott and Carver County along the Minnesota River. The proximity to rivers explains some of the surge as most metro rivers are overflowing their banks and creating additional standing water where mosquitoes thrive.
According to MMCD assistant entomologist Scott Larson, "last year – because of the drought – we had our peak abundance of mosquitoes the first week of June." As of now, we are already surpassing numbers from this time last year, but it's hard to know if the numbers will decline as the water levels at rivers and streams recede.
Black fly numbers were similar to last week with hot spots in the south metro especially along the Minnesota River. Field staff will continue to conduct treatments along the rivers to reduce black fly/biting gnat annoyance.
Here are the mosquito trap counts from last Monday, May 22nd:
Record numbers of calls have been pouring in to report high mosquito abundance.
Between calls and e-mails to the front desk and online submissions via our "Submit a Tip" form, MMCD has been receiving an extremely high volume of resident reports of high mosquito activity. The calls correlate with some of the areas with high trap collections, but are also widespread throughout the District.
Last week alone (May 22nd - May 28th) we received a total of 962 customer calls and e-mails, compared to 59 calls during the same period in 2022. Last year calls, like mosquitoes, peaked in early June so it's possible we are experiencing an earlier than normal peak this year.
In order to ensure your report of mosquito activity is received, please use our "Submit a Tip" form.
Mosquitoes are in the news!
The surge in mosquitoes and all the complaints surrounding their sudden presence after an almost two year absencse has caught the attention of the local news. Several stories have been aired in the past week covering what we are seeing and where are the hot spots.
