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SALT LAKE CITY — A very busy February, March and now April in terms of precipitation is good news for the ski slopes and many crops — but it could also mean a very active mosquito season in the coming months.
Crews at the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District are preparing just in case.
“It’s extremely difficult for us to predict what’s actually going to happen during the course of the actual mosquito season,” executive director Ary Faraji explained. “But from what we can see out there is a lot of standing water.”
Faraji said Salt Lake City is already an active area for the nasty pests.
“The truth of the matter is we are on the leading forefront of mosquito control on a national basis because we have a lot of runoff that comes off of the mountains,” Faraji said.
Add to that the large amount of puddles and stagnant ditches around the Wasatch Front and Faraji said there is a high potential for new breeding grounds. He said workers have been responding to calls from concerned citizens and checking out potential problem areas for growing larvae.
"We’re having a lot of residents that are calling us and letting us know about standing water, either on their property or on some public property where in some previous years water had not formed,” Faraji explained.
Faraji said homeowners should do their part too by reducing the amount of potential breeding areas on their own property.
“If they could reduce any standing water on their property, they would not only be doing themselves a favor, but they’ll be doing all of their neighbors and really us a favor in the end as well,” Faraji said.
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As the weather gets warmer, he warns that people should avoid being outside during the the peak mosquito times — dawn and dusk — and wear long sleeves and pants, or at least use a repellent that is CDC- or EPA-approved.
