If it feels like you've been getting fewer mosquito bites lately, or you're seeing fewer fire ant mounds while working in the yard, you're not necessarily imagining it.
Entomologist Joe Martin says the recent lack of rain could be playing a role in the decrease.
Mosquitoes need standing water to reproduce, and Martin says common items around the yard like old tires and buckets can become breeding grounds after rain.
“We need rain. We need standing old water,” Martin said. “That's where we see a lot of our mosquitoes.”
Martin says the same dry conditions may also explain why some people are encountering fewer fire ants while mowing their lawns.
Heavy rain and moisture push fire ants toward the surface, where they can build their familiar above-ground mounds.
“When they get a lot of moisture and a lot of heavy rain, it pushes the ants up to the surface of the ground,” Martin said.
That means the recent dry stretch may be providing something of a summertime reprieve from two of South Louisiana's most notorious pests.
Martin cautions that mosquitoes and fire ants haven't disappeared. But if you've noticed fewer bites or fewer mounds lately, the lack of rain could be the reason.
And once the rain returns, so could the bugs.
