ROY, Utah — Jacarri Kelley takes her dogs to the Roy Dog Park almost every day.
“We've been coming to the dog park for the last three years," she said. "I didn't start noticing the mosquito issue until this year, literally in the last three months.”
A cancer patient, she takes her health seriously, but because of the mosquitos, she’s outdoors less and less.
“I was getting, like, multiple mosquito bites, and I never get bit either," said Kelley. "And then my son started getting bit by mosquitoes, and then my dog's ears started itching.”
It’s true, said Dr. Greg White, Assistant Director of Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement. There is a higher number of mosquitoes this year.
“We have a five-year average, and right now, we've been definitely well above our five-year average," he said. "Probably about twice as high as what we typically see this time of year.”
The mosquitos we’re seeing in our cities aren't breeding in over-watered lawns; the insects are all coming from our wetlands, said Dr. White.
“In September, we typically see a lot of flooding occur in wetlands that are around the Great Salt Lake," he said. "You'll see places on the west side of Salt Lake, Davis and Weber Counties are really going to be affected.”
With an unusually warm and rainy September, we have mosquitos that wouldn’t be here if it was colder, said Dr. White.
“Weather's just warm at the wrong time," he said. "Then we get these bad mosquito conditions and it's something that we're trying to get a hold of, but it's difficult this time of year."
The good news is, these mosquitoes aren’t a huge health concern.
“The ones we're seeing aren't able to carry West Nile Virus or another vector, other pathogens, but they are quite aggressive and like to bite people," said Dr. White.
There is something you can do about it: reach out to your local mosquito abatement to make a service request if you find an area where the pests are a problem
