DAVIS COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) – If you are loving all the water from this spring’s runoff you are not alone, so are the mosquitoes. Particularly floodwater mosquitoes which lay their eggs in floodwater zones and are hatching in incredible numbers.
In Davis County, the mosquito abatement district has already treated around 35,000 acres for this type of mosquito. To put that into perspective, by this same time during an average year, the district would have treated about 10,000 acres.
Bianca Huish and her family live in Syracuse. They have been in their current home for around three years and have never had a real issue with mosquitoes until this spring. In a video she took on her phone, a huge pile of dead insects covers the table on which a bug zapper sits.
Huish said those dead bugs are the result of just one night.
“My husband is like, ‘You’re used to it. You’re from Brazil.’ but, I have never seen that many mosquitoes in my life,” Huish stated. “Like, it was insane.”
On the back porch, next to the table with the bug zapper, there is a shop vacuum. Huish told ABC4 that because there are so many bugs every morning, using the shop vac is more efficient than sweeping them up.
“My one-year-old has mosquito bites all over his face. It’s kind of sad,” said Huish
Davis Mosquito Abatement District Manager Gary Hatch looked at the video. He explained that yes, there are more mosquitoes out there this year thanks to all the excess runoff. Nonetheless, he said many of the bugs that are out there right now are midges, flying insects that look a lot like mosquitos. Midges don’t bite but Hatch said they are quite annoying and also thriving this spring due to the weather.
Even with all the midges out there “pretending” to be mosquitoes, there are still way too many mosquitoes in city limits for comfort.
“It was a very long winter, and my kids were so excited to be outside and play, but they kind of just hang out inside because they don’t want to get mosquito bites,” Huish added.
It may seem early for mosquitoes to be out in such incredible numbers, but according to the Davis Mosquito Abatement District, it’s floodwater mosquito season.
“They’re good, strong fliers, so they’re moving up into the subdivisions and causing a lot of problems,” Hatch explained.
Hatch told ABC4 that unlike some mosquitoes, this type bites all day long rather than just in the evening. He said they lay their eggs in flood zones, hence the name, and in Davis County, the proximity to Great Salt Lake means there are lots of flood lands that need to be treated in the spring.
“We’ve already treated 35,000 acres in May and we haven’t even sprayed this week yet,” said Hatch. To put that into perspective, he said on an average year, the district will use a plane to treat about 10,000 acres before Memorial Day.
However, the strong runoff this spring has covered more land in Davis County and increased the number of mosquitoes that are hatching. Flood areas are a priority for the abatement district in order to get to the problem at its source, but as Hatch explained, this type of mosquito likes to make its way into town.
Hatch said they are working to stay on top of the issue, but if your neighborhood is being hit particularly hard by mosquitoes, you can also reach out to your local abatement district and request an additional spray.
Knowing that a request can be made and that teams are already out spraying is welcome news for Huish: “That would be awesome so we can enjoy summer in our backyard.”
