Here's why Minnesota's mosquito season will be (and already is) so intense this year
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Just like construction, we complain about mosquitoes every summer.
But this year, experts say we have a good reason. In fact, the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District (MMCD) says it has never received so many calls.
"The mosquitos are out, and we're aware and our staff's going out to figure out what we can do to help," said MMCD's Alex Carlson.
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Right now, the bugs are bad in St. Paul, Chanhassen, and parts of Anoka and Carver counties.
The MMCD received a record number of complaint calls last week: 350 in a day. Usually, it's about 100 calls.
"It's a data point for us. So sometimes people are calling before our surveillance has shown up that there are actual mosquitos in the area so it can kind of trigger some investigations and send our staff in the right direction," he said.
They say the spike is tied to spring flooding, and a delayed hatching from drought years.
"So the ones that didn't hatch the last year or the year before are now hatching, and they're out in full numbers," he said.
Just an inch of rain could trigger a hatch. That's why the MMCD tries to get ahead of it with treatments.
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"I hope that we're peaking right now [laughs]!" Carlson said.
MMCD prefers that people report mosquito activity online because they have just been getting swarmed.
Here is a potential win though: the cattail mosquitos, which typically peak just in time for Fourth of July celebrations, aren't looking to be too bad this summer because of last year's drought. But again, it really depends on the weather.
