Mosquitoes will be a Monster Problem this Summer

Mosquitoes love moisture, and the Treasure Valley has plenty of it right now. As the Boise River flooding subsides, West Nile could be the big new worry.

Did anyone else get a little annoyed as a kid, when Mom-the-fun-ruiner kept issuing constant reminders to put on the bug spray before playing outside?  Well, she knew what she was talking about.  And now that we are the moms, we're going to hose our kids down with Deep Woods Off too, and not feel the least bit bad about it.

There are new warnings out this week about the mosquito boom that's coming, thanks to all of the winter and spring moisture.  Ada County added its mosquito abatement to the Local Disaster Emergency Declaration that stretches back to the March flooding. They'll spray as much as they can and they've got a plan to be proactive, but the responsible thing for us is to stock up on bug spray with DEET as an ingredient.  Then the bugs should stay away.

There's a certain type of mosquito that carries West Nile, and Ada County says that mosquito has quadrupled in number lately, adding up to millions of new mosquitoes every few days.  Ewwww.

Not to ruin Dad's back yard barbecue on Father's Day weekend or anything, but mixing in the bug spray smell with the grilled meat smell will actually be a good thing.  And lather up with bug spray before you head to the Boise Music Festival on the 24th, and Huckleberry Jam in July too.

The fun is still on this summer, cuz those little pests are not going to stop us from making the most of our time outside.  We just might have to skip the fancy perfumes and smell like insect repellent instead.