Mosquito season is supposed to be wrapping up, but in Osceola County, the bugs are thriving.
The late season spike is because over the last few months, Osceola County has seen a lot of rain. It’s even caused flooding in neighborhoods and some pastures.
“Some species can lay dormant for years. So what happens is when those areas flood we can have huge hatch-off s. Millions can hatch at once,” said Terry Torrens, Osceola County Mosquito Control director.
This September, there were just over three times more mosquitos compared to last year. Recently they have resorted to aerial sprays as a last ditch effort to control the mosquito populations.
During the season they collect and spray areas periodically. However, they saw a massive spike in September compared to last year’s mosquito count.
Now, they are asking people to continue to act like we are still in the middle of mosquito season.
“Residents can be our best advocates, if they remember that anything that can be holding water can be a place for mosquitos to breed.” Torrens said.
We were told any standing water, including water found in something as small as a bottle cap can be the home for around 200 mosquito eggs.
“A lot of the mosquitos that breed in people’s yards are called domestic mosquitos,” Torrens said. “They can be more dangerous than some because they can transmit disease.”
This spike in mosquitos during the tail end of mosquito season means more people could have their guard down. Mosquito control is encouraging everyone to stay aware and continue to dump all standing water to help reduce the threat.
Mosquito season usually starts in April and ends around Thanksgiving, but with all the rain, and warm temperature we were told it could last much longer.