Mosquitos on the rise in Southern Colorado

Pest control companies are reporting more calls from people in southern Colorado wanting to get rid of mosquitos on their properties.

Brent Harl, the owner of Lawn Doctor, said the rise in mosquitos is due to a combination of wetter and warmer year than usual.

“An excess of 30 calls a day and we’re getting just a lot more questions because people have not seen mosquitos like they’re seeing this year,” Harl said.

The public health department of El Paso County has also been tracking the rise.

“Often they do really thrive in warmer, moister weather,” said Haley Zachary, the county’s communicable disease epidemiologist. “So I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw more.”

It’s not the first time there’s been more mosquitos in Southern Colorado. Back in 2015, Pueblo had an outbreak of its own, with some of the mosquitos testing positive for the West Nile virus.

Still, Zachary said only a select few of mosquitos are able to carry harmful diseases; an even smaller percentage of people bit by mosquitos gets severely ill.

“Often, people who are over the age of fifty or have immunocompromised issues will have a more severe illness,” she said.

But health officials say it’s still advisable to protect yourself during the summer

“Whether that be through long-sleeved clothing or long pants, but also an EPA registered insecticide that will prevent any type of mosquito bite,” Zachary said.

Harl said people can also keep the insects from breeding nearby by removing all still-standing water. Objects like tires, buckets and dog bowls are just a few of the common breeding habitats for the small pesky bugs, he said.

“People don’t like them,” Harl said. “Who does? You don’t want to get bit.”