Disease Carrying Mosquitoes Working Their Way West
By Rocky Thompson on June 5th, 2009
Mosquitoes are such a part of life that I sometimes forget that they sustain themselves by feasting on blood. Not only is that utterly disgusting, but it’s surprising that they don’t spread more disease. Well, bad news. The disease-carrying Japanese Rock Pool Mosquito has been working its way from the East Coast since about 1998, and now it’s hit the Midwest. If you’ve never suffered mosquitoes in a place like Minnesota, it might be tough to understand how an encephalitis-carrying insect could be that much of a problem. Trying to avoid mosquitoes in the Midwest is like trying to avoid heat in the desert-it’s all around, and you just have to suffer through it.
With the super dry conditions we’ve been having this spring/summer their numbers should be down a bit. Last year 4th of July up at Itasca was a madhouse. On a 3/4 mile hike in for camping in my wife collected about 50 bites. Only time we’ve ever cut and run on a camping trip.
If it ever warms up enough by Itasca we are going to have loads of bugs. Its been super wet in norhthern MN.