Wet June Means A Mosquito-Filled Fourth Of July

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- With the second rainiest June on record, all that standing water in ponds and lakes may leave you feeling itchy.

"Mosquitoes develop in places that are dry most of the time, but then fill up with water after a rainstorm," said Metropolitan Mosquito Control District communications coordinator Mike McLean. We've really seen those kind of places fill up.

Crews have already treated about 200,000 acres for mosquitoes--that's on the higher end of normal. With more rain hitting Ramsey, Washington, Dakota, and eastern Anoka counties last weekend, those areas will get hit hard with mosquitos for the Fourth of July. The outer edges of the metro will be hit hardest. Closer to the cities, numbers will be about normal.

"When you get into some of those outlying areas, there's a lot of standing water and we've had an awful lot of mosquitoes produced over the last couple of months," McLean said.

The weather has also made it tougher for treatments to last. The Metropolitan Mosquito Control District is at maximum budget for the year.

"We do a lot of treatment of the breeding sites of mosquitoes to keep them as low as they can," McLean said, "but when you get that much water, a lot of mosquitoes escape and we've been seeing that this year."

The good news is once the Fourth of July is over, we should see a drop in mosquitoes all over the state by mid-July.

The Metropolitan Mosquito Control District says it's important to make sure you get rid of any standing water that you can near your home to help cut down on the number of mosquitoes.