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Mosquitoes In Michigan Expected To Increase Soon

Asian tiger mosquito photo
microbiologybytes
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flickr creative commons

If you’ve spent any time outside, you’ve probably noticed the mosquitoes are back and biting. Thanks to our cool May and June months, the big increase is still a few weeks away.

Dr. Ned Walker is a professor of entomology and micro-biology at Michigan State University.

According to Walker, Michigan is home to 60 species of mosquitoes

He told WKAR News a statewide trapping system shows the number of mosquitoes is below normal for this time of year thanks to our cool spring season.

"We had plenty of rain but we didn’t have the [higher] temperature," said Walker. "And the [higher] temperature will drive the development of mosquitoes when they’re living in the water."

With rain and summer heat in the forecast this week, Walker expects the mosquitoes to really increase soon. And the biting bugs will be active in the evening.

“Most of our mosquitoes are evening as we say corpuscular biters," said Walker. "They come out and start to bite in intensity near the end of the day.”

Walker advised people to use repellants liberally to keep the mosquitoes away.

Mosquitoes are also a major health threat for unprotected dogs. 

“Probably our most common mosquito borne disease is dog heartworm. Domestic dogs if they’re not protected by preventive medicines, they can get that parasite infection.”

Walker says you should ask your vet for medicine or a collar to keep mosquitoes away from your dog.

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