Land of Lakes Battles Mosquitoes
Minnesota is known for its water and has become a summer time playground for boaters and fishermen. It’s also a state known for its mosquitoes.
They are large, they swarm, and they come out each year to nibble away at the ankles of all humans, without discriminating. Rich or poor, out-of-towner or resident, this bug will bite whatever flesh is nearby.
But one organization has the expertise to quell these pests. They are the mosquito-fighting scientists and bureaucrats at the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District, or MMCD for short.
Over the years, MMCD has perfected techniques at search-and-destroy, usually beginning their missions in late-May. Their first quest, always, is to search, so they set out to examine all sorts of water-holding areas, including culverts, underground catch basins, and drainage ditches.
In seven counties, 208 MMCD workers fan out to seek mosquito larvae, and they focus on standing water like puddles. It only takes about a half inch of water to grow a tiny egg into a rampaging adult mosquito.
The MMCD website is a community resource, and will help any mosquito-wary human find out which types of the bugs carry disease, versus which just fly around and pretend to be deadly.
