Experts Say to Get Ready for a Mosquito-Heavy Summer

Many Texans are looking forward to spending warm summer nights outside, but experts are already raining down some bad news for those who prone to mosquito bites. Popular Science says that it looks like it’s going to be an especially buggy summer in the U.S. – especially when it comes to mosquitos and ticks.

The National Pest Management Association’s “bug barometer” for this year reads that Texans will notice a higher than average population when it comes to ants, mosquitos, and our harmless, yet unwelcome house guests, cockroaches.

What conditions have made it perfect for blood-sucking mosquitos to increase in population? PopSci explains, “The winter warmth (this was the sixth-warmest winter and second-warmest February on record in the United States according to NOAA) was pure buggy bliss. Add a warm, wet spring to the mix, and 2017 is creating the perfect breeding ground for some of our least favorite insect pests, including ticks and mosquitoes.”

The Texas Department of Public Safety says that in order to prevent yourself from becoming a feast for mosquitos, you should wear long-sleeves, pants and other clothing (though for some, it simply gets too hot to do this.) Bug repellent with “DEET, picaridin, IR3535, and some oil of lemon eucalyptus and para-menthane-diol products” should be sprayed on the outside of clothing if you’re covered up. More tips can be found here.