BROOMFIELD, Colo. – Flood water mosquitoes are making life miserable for outdoor gardeners, park users and people trying to enjoy their patios along the Front Range.
Several Nexdoor social media sites in the north Metro have been blowing up with comments about an earlier than usual mosquito season.
The lab manager at Colorado Mosquito Control says recent rains, and sudden hot weather, have led to a big burst of mosquito activity along the front range.
Doc Weissmann told Denver7 that heat speeds up the life cycle of mosquitoes.
“I’m from Minnesota,” said Tessa Thulein. “I was out gardening with my husband, and said to him, ‘it feels like I’m back home in Minnesota with this number of mosquitoes.’ I was surrounded by them.”
Michele Thorne Green has also noticed more mosquitoes than usual, and so has her son, Brichard.
“We got attacked like we ran over a nest or something,” the 7-year-old said. “They mainly attacked dad, because he didn’t have a helmet.”
Weissmann said most of the pesky mosquitoes bugging people right now are just the flood water variety, but he adds that the Culex variety will soon be proliferating.
Culex are the ones that can spread West Nile Virus.
“We just started testing this week,” he said. “We’ve been setting up mosquito traps. We should be getting some results tonight or tomorrow.”
Weissmann said people who are out and about at dawn or dusk, should use a mosquito repellent spray.
He said they should also wear long sleeves and pants.
When asked if citronella candles can ward off mosquitoes, Weissmann chuckled and said, “The only people who benefit from citronella candles are the ones who make them."
He said people who want to spend time on their patio would be better off using an electric fan, instead.
“Mosquitoes aren’t good at flight,” he said. “The breeze from a fan will help keep them away.”