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May 21, 2026
The first two weeks of measurement showed mosquito numbers close to zero.
Mosquitoes weren't out last week, but they might start appearing this week.
Minnesota weather benefits having a short memory. After an extended Memorial Day weekend with hot, dry temperatures that were great pool weather, it's hard to believe that one week ago was cold, wet, and not at all Summer-like. The result of those conditions last week meant that MMCD did not collect very many mosquitoes. Storms on Monday night postponed trap collections to Tuesday and then cold, windy weather meant that few mosquitoes were active and so the weekly trap network had another week of low counts.
Trap numbers for biting black flies were also lower than the week before, but the cold weather and wind likely impacted their ability to find their way to one of our traps. Staff sweep net collections on warmer days and resident calls indicate that black flies are certainly active already.
Mosquito numbers are likely to begin creeping up this week. Tonight staff will be setting traps and doing sweep net collections on the warmest surveillance night of the year, so mosquitoes that have been in hiding will likely be active. We will have the results of tonight's collections in next week's update.
Here are this week's District Maps:
Helicopters Will Finish Up Cattail Treatments This Week, Which Will be the Last Helicopter Activity for a While
It has been a busy couple of weeks for helicopter activity with air work happening at least one day every week since April. Staff at MMCD are getting a break this week as they wrap up treatments for cattail mosquitoes on Tuesday and possibly Wednesday. After that, all treatments for cattail mosquitoes will be done and the first round of pre-hatch is done. This means that the next helicopter treatments won't be necessary until we receive more than an inch of rain and the current 10-day forecast makes that seem unlikely to start the month of June.
Here are some of the numbers from the week of May 18-22, courtesy of MMCD Assistant Director Jon Peterson:
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Treated 25,700 acres by helicopter
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Collected and lab identified 222 air samples
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Treated 733 acres by drone
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Inspected and/or treated 5,125 ground sites
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Treated 967 ground site acres
Get a Free Mosquito and Tick Safety Kit for Lyme Disease Awareness Month!
We are in the last week of Lyme Disease Awareness Month and we want to make sure residents of the Twin Cities have everything they need to be protected. For 2026, we are offering FREE Mosquito and Tick Safety kits to help you stay protected. These pouches will come stocked with Tick ID cards, Tick remover keys, repellent wipes, tips for protecting yourself from mosquitoes and ticks, and more!
Learn more about how to get your tick kit now!
Upcoming Events
Come out and see staff from the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District at one of these upcoming events:
- Saturday, May 30th - Lake Phalen Waterfest in St. Paul
- Thursday, June 4th - Party in the Park in Oak Park Heights
MMCD in the News
Last week KARE 11 caught up with Field Operations Supervisor Mark Leonard from the Maple Grove facility and District Entomologist Scott Larson to talk about the status on mosquitoes and ticks this season:
Win an MMCD T-Shirt!
Here is your chance to win either the new MMCD Attack Larvae T-Shirt or last year's Laser Loon shirt. Sign up for "The Weekly Buzz" newsletter with Weekly Mosquito updates. Each week there will be a trivia question at the end. Two correct answers each week will get a shirt!
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