CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — It's no secret mosquitoes thrive in heat and wet weather and with the transition to La Nina it could bring an increase of tropical activity which a lot of our summer rain will be dependent upon.
Weather experts say it's hard to tell exactly how much rain we could see this summer, but one thing is clear, all it takes is a brief round of showers like some of the area saw over night to see those pesky insects come out along with the diseases they could potentially carry.
The type of summer mosquito season we'll see all depends on one thing, Mother Nature.
Public Health Director Dr. Fauzia Khan said the City is closely watching.
"We have strategy placed mosquito traps throughout the city and our team will be checking the level of the mosquitoes in those traps we are going to focus on the breeding grounds," Khan said.
There are about 20 of those traps in all.
The team sends the samples to the Texas Department of State Health Services labs.
They will look for the diseases mosquitoes can carry, which includes the West Nile virus.
"Usually, we start from March to August in the past there have been years we've started earlier and ended late," she said.
Khan said city vector crews will spray areas of the city where mosquitoes start breeding first because she says it's the most effective way of limiting their population.
"The team will be going out looking at the population and as we reach a certain threshold that is when we will actively start spraying," she said.
Mosquitoes love the rain and heat combination, but not so much heat and drought because there are fewer puddles for them to breed in. Another element is the wind, windy days they're blowing around and so you won't notice them as much.
3NEWS meteorologist Faith Colbert said areas to the west like Freer and Kingsville might have gotten a little more rain than Corpus Christi, regardless, she said the relative humidity is enough to create plenty of hungry mosquitoes looking to feed.
"Even more of a need to have that bug spray on standby they are going to be out thriving," Colbert said.
Khan said if you see an increase of mosquitoes in your neighborhood, give the city a call at 311.
She asks residents to take care of overgrown yards and vegetation which offer mosquitoes a great hiding place.
"That is one way of reducing the population of mosquitoes," she said. "Mosquitoes love stagnant dirty water, a small bottle cap can carry thousands of mosquitoes. Take care of your yards."
3NEWS checked in with other cities.
Officials in Portland told 3NEWS that their crews continue to use preventative measures like the use of larvicide in breeding areas that kills the larva before they become biting adults.
Crews there also send samples to get tested for diseases.
Portland recently completed its first trapping of the year and so far none have tested positive.
You can see all mosquito control activity for Portland here.
The City of Portland encourages residents to report increased mosquito activities in your neighborhood to (361) 777-4601.
