Caledonia's Mosquito Problem Won't Be Too Bad, Experts Predict

It looks like -- fingers crossed, knock on wood -- it might not be such a bad year, mosquito-wise, in Caledonia and Racine County.

Central Racine County Health Department Health Officer Margaret Gesner said that they haven’t received a single call from residents about mosquitoes so far this year.

“In years past, we’d normally have had some calls, so that’s a good thing,” she said.

She said personally, she’s seen a few mosquitoes around, but not like we had last year. That’s an observation backed up state-wide by University of Wisconsin entomologist Phil Pelletteri.

“My gut feeling is that overall, we’re seeing less,” he said.

Pelletteri said that flooding rains really bring on on the worst mosquito invasions, and so far -- again, keep your fingers crossed -- Wisconsin hasn’t seen much precipitation.

That’s in contrast to last year, which was pretty bad. The state doesn’t trap, count, and tag mosquitoes, of course (although it’s an amusing thought) but he said a colleague found the number of mosquitoes in the summer of 2010 to be the worst he’d seen in 30 years.

Pelletteri said that if you’ve already been bitten this year, you might have been attacked by blackflies, which are common in May and June. They like to bite along the hairline and victims don’t feel it until it’s too late. Their bite patterns also tend to look like little stab marks, complete with bloody spots.

When it comes to mosquitoes, Wisconsin has 54 different specie, and they can be found any time during the year. But the worst ones come like clockwork 10 to 14 days after flooding rains. No flooding rains -- and voila! -- fewer mosquitoes.

He said that over the past five years, we’ve had a couple really “normal to bad” ones, mosquito-wise, and a couple of really dry, good years.

“People get really spoiled in the dry years, and they don’t remember the bad ones. So when a bad one comes, people get grumped out,” he said.

He said this is shaping up like a year for you to be spoiled, not grumpy.

Gesner, of the Central Racine County Health Department said that to her knowledge, there are no plans to spray anywhere in the area. And while she’s glad to see fewer mosquitoes so far this year, she still wants people in Caledonia and all over the County to take normal public health precautions about avoiding mosquitoes -- and thus avoiding West Nile Virus.

“Whether there are a few or a lot, prevention is key,” she said. “Use repellent and take measures to keep mosquitoes from breeding around your home.”