Minnesota braces for mosquito season amidst rainy spring

(FOX 9) - This time of year in the land of 10,000 lakes, fishing season and boating season also means mosquito season.

After a dry winter, Metropolitan Mosquito Control District (MMCD) Public Affairs manager Alex Carlson says his organization was expecting a tame spring with fewer of the insects flying around. However, after a rainy April, things changed.

"Already, we’re kind of back to what we were expecting for a normal year. All it took was a lot of that rain we had in April," Carlson explained on Saturday. "Anywhere where there’s ponds or marshes, we’re seeing a lot of mosquito activity… about an inch of rain is what it takes to trigger a major hatch, and we’ve had several rain events that have been an inch or close to it just in the past two weeks."

Mosquitoes need standing water to hatch. But Carlson says the bugs also need warmer overnight temperatures.

Until then, hikers Doug Rude and Jayne Annvalley have been enjoying the woods at Battle Creek Regional Park.

"There's good about mosquitoes because a lot of wildlife eat mosquitoes," Rude said. "You just don’t want them to eat us."

"I use mosquito repellent, long sleeve shirts [in] light colors," Rude continued.

"I’ll use a net if I’m going to an area where it’s very heavy for mosquitoes," Annvalley finished.