Have you noticed more mosquitoes in the Sacramento area this winter? While it’s far from peak mosquito season, experts say recent warmer temperatures may have increased their activity.
For Nala and Brandon Thompson, the nice weather means one thing: a long walk along the levee in West Sacramento.
“I don’t go out in the evenings because that’s when I do see them,” Brandon Thompson said.
Thompson is talking about mosquitoes, a nuisance he usually sees during the warmer months. But for now, he and Nala have been lucky not to see any on their winter walks.
“I live right over there by the river. I haven’t really seen one, but ironically, now that you ask, my daughter killed one along the sliding glass door, but that’s really the only one we’ve seen,” Brandon Thompson said.
But according to the Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito Vector Control District, they’ve seen a slight uptick in calls about the pests. And while they’re typically not active this time of year, warmer temperatures this winter may have woken some up, but just briefly.
“These are mosquitoes that have been hibernating during the winter, and the warmer weather has definitely gotten them out of their hibernation,” said Luz Maria Robles with vector control.
However, officials say these are likely not the kind of mosquitoes that carry dangerous diseases, unlike the varieties that come out in spring and summer.
“As people are spending more time outdoors, it’s sunny,” Maria Robles said. “People are definitely taking notice of them.”
Mosquito activity is highly dependent on the weather, and with a chance of rain next week, Robles said activity should drop off again.
But that doesn’t mean crews at vector control are letting their guard down. Crews are raising thousands of mosquito-eating fish, born in large ponds, then moved into containers before being released into bodies of water, where they will feed on mosquito larvae to help keep populations in check.
When it comes to this “early season” activity, officials say it’s nothing out of the ordinary and it won’t last.
“The mosquitoes are not worse than other years,” Maria Robles said. “It’s just something we see every year.”
As we get closer to spring and then summer, Brandon Thompson knows it won’t be long before mosquitoes make a comeback, but at least Nala Thompson helps him spot them.
“You see them flying around, and they’re easy to spot on my white dog,” Brandon Thompson said. “I just swat them, but yeah, I don’t go out in the summer.”