Tiger mosquitoes emerging in Wisconsin
By Gino Recchia
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GREENFIELD, Wisconsin (WISN) — A new mosquito species is showing up in Wisconsin, raising concerns about its potential impact.
The Asian tiger mosquito, originally from Asia, was first discovered in Wisconsin in 2017. Since then, it has been concentrated in small population pockets near Madison and Milwaukee, according to Nick Dowdy of the Milwaukee Public Museum.
“They’re called that because they have this sort of black and white stripes on their body, not because they’re particularly dangerous more so than any other mosquito. However, they can vector diseases like West Nile as well as Zika,” Dowdy said.
Dowdy explained that Wisconsin’s winters may be one of the best defenses against the invasive insect.
“There’s some recent evidence that they can’t survive the winter very well in Wisconsin. So the populations are probably dying off each year and then sort of getting reintroduced through things like trade and commerce,” he said.
While tiger mosquitoes may not stick around the whole year, experts say there is one simple step homeowners can take to reduce their presence.
“One of the things that you can do to sort of limit the amount of mosquitoes in your yard, for example, is to reduce standing water,” Dowdy said.
Dowdy added that while most tiger mosquito eggs cannot survive Wisconsin winters, some may make it through in warmer places such as city sewers or underground.
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