Summer of rain paving the way for a mosquito boom, but not until next summer

Minnesota Now

Mid-July means we’re deep into mosquito season. And since mosquitos thrive in puddles of standing water, the huge amount of rain we saw in June is paving the way for their population to boom. The growth won’t be this summer, because current populations were impacted by drought. But the wet weather could help them thrive next summer. That’s concerning for researchers who are seeing a rise in insect-borne diseases across the state. And they think climate change could have a hand it in.

Joining MPR News guest host Nina Moini to explain are two people who spend a lot of their time thinking about this potentially growing threat from insects like mosquitos and ticks. Jonathan Oliver is an entomologist and professor at the University of Minnesota’s division of Environmental Health Sciences. Alex Carlson manages public affairs with the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District.