Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Utah's rising temperatures are causing a surge in mosquito populations, increasing abatement efforts.
- Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District reports trapping 3,000 to 4,000 mosquitoes nightly.
- Crews cover 40,000 wetland acres, using planes, drones and ATVs for mosquito control.
SALT LAKE CITY — Grab your bug spray, it's that time of year again. Utah's hotter temperatures are breeding more and more mosquitoes, and it's just getting started.
Just in the last week, workers with the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District said mosquito traps have gone from catching 200 to 300 mosquitoes a night to roughly 3,000 to 4,000. That has crews on the lookout for mosquitoes and their eggs.
"We're checking for mosquito larvae," said Jason Hardman, rural fields supervisor with the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District.
Crews with the district have been doing it since April, but now is when the work really starts to pick up.
"Our goal is to get to every single site once a week," Hardman said.
They're working on catching and killing mosquitoes over 40,000 wetland acres and 111 urban square miles.
"If you think of 100 million mosquitoes, and we go out and spray them and we get a 90% kill, which is very good, you're still going to have 10 million mosquitoes," he said.
Until recently, Utah's mosquito count had been lower than normal, but with temperatures warming up, industry educators said mosquitoes are making up for lost time.
"We're currently on track for a five-year average. But as the weeks go on and as the summer months continue, we'll see how it goes," said Michele Rehbein, education specialist with the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District.
To stay ahead of them, that means trolling through the mud to see which eggs have hatched.
"The eggs can remain in the mud for up to 10 years," Hardman said.
Whether it's by planes, drones or ATVs, they're spraying as many sites as they can.
"If we didn't do control, you wouldn't be able to go outside at night; it would get that bad," Hardman said.
It's also interesting to note that female mosquitoes only need a teaspoon of water to lay their eggs — that's the same as what fits in a plastic spoon.
For tips on mosquito prevention, the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District recommends:
- Wear only EPA-approved insect repellent, including those with active ingredients of DEET, picaridin, IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus.
- Cover up any exposed skin.
- Wear long sleeves and long pants.
- Pull up your socks.
- Wear a hat.
- Walk around your property once a week to look for standing water.
If you need any abatement help or wish to report a problem, contact your local abatement district. Check the abatement website for the districts in Salt Lake and Davis counties.
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Brian Carlson
