BOISE, Idaho — With more people heading outside and enjoying the warmer spring weather, officials say there's an increased number of mosquito reports buzzing about. However, they say the rise in sightings could be a case of mistaken identity.
Jim Lunders with the Mosquito Abatement District Canyon County said residents are most likely seeing midges rather than mosquitoes. Midges are closely related to mosquitoes but they're a little different. Their larvae develop in mud near the bottom of lakes and ponds as opposed to mosquitoes, which develop in standing water.
Midges live only three to four days, while mosquitoes live two to four weeks. Midges will also swarm near lake homes, and most importantly, they don't bite.
The Gem County and Canyon County abatement districts said they're seeing more larvae than they normally do this time of the year. They predict this will be a "heavy mosquito summer."
Mosquitoes pose a health risk as they are prone to carrying diseases like West Nile Virus. Back in 2023, a Gooding County woman died from the disease. Lunders said the best thing a person can do to prevent bites from mosquitoes is to clear all standing water from their property, including old tires, buckets, trash cans and anything that can hold water.
"All those containers really add up for mosquitoes to breed," he said.
Lunders held up a small container of water with roughly 50 live mosquito larvae, stating that it doesn't take much water to affect a neighborhood.
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