Mosquito numbers on the rise

Yep. They’re back. Those pesky mosquitoes have become noticeably more prominent in the past couple days throughout the Fargo-Moorhead area, and officials are recording the increase, too.

Days of consistent, light rainfall left water pooling throughout the region — offering a prime breeding ground for the insects.

Cass County Vector Control officials recorded higher trap counts on Tuesday than they’d seen yet this season, and Moorhead officials also have seen their numbers rise slightly.

While the numbers are far from extreme, it will be a noticeable change for anyone spending the evening hours outdoors, said Ben Prather, Cass County Vector Control director.

But they might not be as evident in some places as others. For instance, in Moorhead, officials continue monitoring the mosquito count but it’s still “not at a great amount,” said Chad Martin, the city’s operations director.

Both Moorhead and Cass County have done rounds of mosquito control since earlier this spring in an effort to kill the insects before they hatched, which might have helped lessen the presence of the bugs until now.

Prather said Cass County crews will likely be out spraying on the ground as early as today. In Moorhead, though, the mosquito counts aren’t high enough yet to merit spraying.

“We’re monitoring and ready to go,” Martin said.

But, there’s only so much official crews can do, since they can’t treat for mosquitoes on private property.

Residents are asked to help in the fight by taking small measures in their own yards, such as eliminating any standing water.

It might be too soon to tell, but Prather and Martin both said it could be a pest-prone summer – especially in comparison to last summer when cool temperatures kept the bugs mostly at bay.

“It’s priming itself to be more challenging than past years,” Prather said. “At this point, it’s a day-by-day thing. It all depends. … We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves.”

Kristen Daum is a reporter at The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, which is owned by Forum Communications Co.

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