If you note the calendar, you’ll see that it’s May. That means it’s already quite warm and muggy in south Louisiana, and mosquitoes will be out in force soon and ready to feed.
Kevin Caillouet is the Director of St. Tammany Parish Mosquito Abatement and says that residents should expect them to be out, because they’re actually a bit overdue. “It’s been a little cooler than usual for this time of year. Last year, we started off hot and wet in February and had to send spray trucks out there then. So, this is what we expect this time of year,” he points out.
Even with the colder weather stretching a bit longer into the year, Caillouet notes that mosquitoes are a resilient species that has evolved for these weather changes over the course of a great stretch of time. That means that even if there are unexpected spells of cool weather, don’t expect that to tamp down the pests’ numbers.
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Caillouet says they’re being proactive in St. Tammany Parish, practicing “evidence-based mosquito management” that has them setting traps across the parish so they can identify where the problems are at their worst. Once they define the areas most in need of treatment, they can deliver that treatment via truck or aircraft. In terms of personal safety, mosquitoes can carry transmissible diseases, and Caillouet emphasizes that insect repellent is still highly recommended to keep bites at bay.