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Dave Geske, a mosquito control expert in the La Crosse County Health Department, said he has already seen some good mosquito hatches in the La Crosse area, especially where the banks of the Black River and La Crosse rivers have overflown, and south of La Crosse near Goose Island and behind Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center.
“The river was pretty high, and some flooded areas provided good hatching areas for mosquitoes,” Geske said. “But some areas are too deep for hatching.”
The mosquito season hasn't been bad overall this spring, “but it really depends where you live,” Geske said. Mosquito activity depends upon rainfall and how warm it gets, he said.
He said many mosquitoes could hatch this week, as weather forecasts call for four days of rain.
Geske started monitoring mosquitoes several weeks ago and has been treating some areas with a bacteria that kills pest mosquitoes. More mosquitoes also probably survived hibernation during the mild winter, he said.
He said climate changes are adding one to two weeks to the early mosquito season. “In the next 10 years, we’re going to see a lot of changes in the mosquito population because we’re providing better conditions for vectors and diseases to survive,” he said.
Geske said he is seeing pest mosquitoes now, but it won’t be long until he sees mosquitoes carrying the La Crosse strain of encephalitis and West Nile virus.
The peak months for West Nile and the La Crosse strain of encephalitis are August and September. La Crosse County still has not reported a human West Nile case. Geske said the La Crosse area has averaged five to six encephalitis cases a year for the past several years.
“We’ve done a good job of keeping the mosquito populations down, and you’re seeing those results in West Nile and La Crosse encephalitis,” Geske said. “Other areas of the country are learning about the value of good mosquito control measures.”
Geske said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention budget has been cut for encephalitis testing, so the Wisconsin Laboratory of Hygiene won’t be testing for people older than 16 this year.
“For me, that’s not good because we’re going to miss cases,” Geske said.
Geske again is asking La Crosse area residents to help decrease the risk for West Nile and the La Crosse strain of encephalitis by reducing the number and types of mosquito breeding habitats, especially tires and open containers in yards.
Terry Rindfleisch can be reached at (608) 791-8227 or trindfleisch@lacrossetribune.com
WHAT TO DO
Reduce your risk for mosquito bites, encephalitis and West Nile virus by using the following recommendations:
Source: La Crosse County Health Department
