2023 Looks Like a ‘Banner Year’ For Mosquitos in W. Montana

The post on one of my social media feeds just said "The mosquitoes are bad!". It was from friend of mine that lives here. It was echoing what I have heard a lot of this year. Western Montana has had a wet May and so far the weather for June has been cool and wet and that is a recipe for more mosquitoes than normal.

Montana Mosquitos are Bad This Year

Any outdoor activity that I have done over the past week I have had some mosquito bites. The mosquitoes are bad. Don't take my word for it, I spoke with Sarah Holden, the Lolo, Montana, Mosquito District Coordinator about this years mosquitoes and she said we are having a "banner year" for the bugs.

Lolo Mosquito Control District

I asked Sarah about the Lolo Mosquito District. She said:

We are a Lolo mosquito abatement district, formed in 1978. It's actually a special assessment tax and we have a district boundary and everyone within that district boundary pays the tax and we provide the service of mosquito abatement. We do more than just fogging. We also do a "larvicide" program which we implemented a couple years a go and we are really moving into that.

Trying to Get the Mosquitos Before They Hatch

That means they are trying to mitigate the mosquitoes before they hatch into adults, and it attacks their breeding sites. They call spraying, "fogging" and they have already "fogged" a few times this year. From what they are seeing they will need to "fog" more times this year. It will depend on what they are seeing in their traps as they track the mosquitos activity. It is also depends on the weather.

This is What You Can Do To Help

The Mosquito District is focusing a lot on educating the public on things they can do to cut down the number of mosquitoes on their land. Breeding bats is a good thing when it comes to mosquito mitigation. Here are some other tips on where mosquitoes like to hang out and what homeowners can do, Sarah continued:

Keeping grass cut low. Eliminating breeding habitat sites, like standing water. The Culex species do harbor West Nile (virus). They are into that really nasty stagnant water, tires, small little buckets, bird baths, things like that. We are more than just a "fogging" program and this year is very bad for mosquitos. I would say we are having a banner year. We will know more at the end of the year.

If you Have Questions Western Montana, Reach Out

Western Montana has seen a lot more flood water which is a prime breeding ground for aggressive mosquitoes. If you want to learn more on what you can do to help mitigate mosquitoes or to learn more about the Lolo Mosquito District, you can contact Sarah via email at sholden@missoulacounty.us. Good luck out there this year, and remember to use the mosquito repellent.

If you would like to hear the rest of the interview listen below.