Summer proving to be one of the worst for mosquitoes

“Oh, this is number one, all over the state,” said entomology professor Tim Gibb. “And that's because they're very much linked to moisture, that's where they breed. These wet conditions have resulted in a record number of mosquitoes.”

June went down in Indiana as the wettest on record, and with all the rain came mosquitoes in droves, Gibb said. Like their gnat relatives, there are hundreds of species of mosquitoes, but the ones that have residents here swatting and smacking away are common house mosquitoes.

They take up residence and breed, Gibb said, in pretty much anything that will hold water.

“Bird baths, old tires, flower pots, pretty much anything sitting around collecting water,” he said. “The house mosquito likes to live its life in small stagnant bodies of water, which makes them more prevalent around homes.”

Gibb said house mosquitoes also carry the West Nile Virus, although according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention there have been no cases of the virus found in people in Indiana.

There are, however, many human cases in states to the west.

Bryce Anderson, superintendent of the city's Street and Sanitation Department, said his crews have been spraying for mosquitoes at least three times a week, always at dawn or dusk when mosquitoes are the most prevalent.

On average, the city spends about $7,000 per year on malathion, the chemical most municipalities and park systems use for mosquito eradication.

Some weeks, Anderson said, street department crews have upped the number of spray days per week to five in an effort to get ahead, but other weeks heavy rain has kept them from spraying at all.

All-in-all, Anderson said they haven't received as many complaints as he might assume given the wet, mosquito-laden season.

“There's really no way for us to gauge how bad a season is other than from complaints, and, to be honest, we haven't had that many,” he said.

But a bad season it is, Gibb said, although some people aren't as bothered as others.

Gibb said there are many — a blessed many — who that don't even notice a bad mosquito infestation because the insects simply aren't drawn to them.

But others, he said, are more prone to being bitten or having a more noticeable allergic reaction, such as excessive swelling and itching.

There are many myths out there as to why that is true — some argue it's a person's blood type — but the truth is that entomologists simply aren't sure.

“Some people just attract mosquitoes more than others,” Gibb said. “And they respond more violently when bitten. Other people can walk right beside them and not get bitten.

“It really all comes back to a person's immune system and how well their bodies fight off foreign bodies.”

And as with gnats, Gibb said the best way to protect yourself from mosquito bites is to stock up on repellents with DEET.

“By and large, that is the most effective on the market right now,” he said.

As for when people can expect to say good-bye to the painful pests, Gibb said it's not likely to be anytime soon.

“I'm afraid it's going to be the first freeze,” he said. “We just have high numbers, and as the rain persists, it's going to continue to fuel those breeding sites.”