Expect To See More Mosquitos After Last Week’s Heavy Rain

We can expect to see more mosquitos out and about after more than a week of continued rain. LSU AgCenter entomologist Kristen Healy says more rain equals more mosquitos, and different types of mosquitos at that. She says a lot of rainfall can lead to hatching of so-called flood water mosquitos.

“These are much more nuisance pests than anything. They’re tremendous biters but not usually ones we associate with West Nile virus for example,” Healy said.

But Healy says they also see the southern house mosquito, which is known to carry diseases like the West Nile virus. She says while we haven’t seen local transmission of the Zika virus yet, that’s also a possibility.

“There’s active transmission that goes on around us, like in the Caribbean, South America, Central America. When there’s active transmission going on in those areas, you have to potential to see that come into the United States as well,” Healy said.

Healy says unfortunately mosquitos will always be a concern in Louisiana, especially during the summer months when people spend more time outside. She recommends that everyone take steps to protect themselves from these pesky critters.

“Wear long sleeves and long pants that are lightly colored, choose EPA registered repellant, also make sure you don’t have standing water in your back yard and you’re not producing your own mosquitos,” Healy said.