Mosquitoes surge in Twin Cities metro reaching five-year high

MN seeing 5-year-high for mosquitoes

Minnesota is seeing a five-year-high for mosquitoes. FOX 9's Soyoung Kim has the reason why.

(FOX 9) - The Metropolitan Mosquito Control District (MMCD) said crews have had all hands-on deck deploying larval control measures.

The agency said it is seeing a surge and this could be the peak of the summer mosquito season.

A pesky annoyance

The backstory:

Public Affairs Manager Alex Carlson said after several years of drought depleted mosquito numbers in the metro area, mosquitoes have bounced back this season.

"Overall, mosquito numbers have been depleted from three straight years of drought. Now, we’re continuing to work our way back up," said Carlson. "Last year was the first year that we’ve had significant rain in quite awhile, which is why we had so many cattail mosquitoes this year, because they’re dependent on last year’s rain."

Plus, there are dozens of other species in Minnesota, and some can hatch at any time with some rainfall.

"Those floodwater mosquitoes are constantly laying their eggs, and then they wait for rain. We’ve been getting pretty steady amount of rain. So, every time we get a decent amount of rainfall, more will hatch," said Carlson.

What we know:

Now, Carlson said cattail mosquitoes are at a five-year-high.

"We’re at the highest number of cattail mosquitoes we’ve seen since 2020. Right now, we’re seeing about four times as many as we saw last year," said Carlson. "Cattail mosquitoes are the human-biting ones. They are pretty aggressive human-biting mosquitoes."

Metro Mosquito Control said the mosquitoes surging now are mostly more of an annoyance than any need to be alarmed.

"Cattail mosquitoes, in general, aren’t disease vectors typically. They’re just going to cause that itchy, red bump," said Carlson.

What they're saying:

The team said it did detect mosquitoes carrying West Nile Virus recently, but said that is not unusual for this time of year and there have not been any human cases.

MMCD shared some reminders. Mosquitoes are most active around dawn and dusk, so stay indoors during those times, if possible. Remember to use bug spray and cover up if you can. Another tip, dump out any standing water because that will attract mosquitoes as well.