Mosquito population explodes across Metro Detroit after recent storms, floods

Rise in mosquito population causes concern regarding transmissible diseases

MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – It’s not your imagination, there are a lot more mosquitos in Metro Detroit and it’s partly due to the weather.

Trash piles are havens for mosquitos, but they can be found anywhere. Even something as small as a plastic bottle cap can be big enough for mosquitos to lay their eggs.

Related: ‘This house is unlivable’ -- Detroit couple desperate for help with major flood damage

After the recent heavy rains and widespread flooding, Michigan’s mosquitos are everywhere.

“We went from having about 200-300 in each trap to about 1,000 in each trap,” said Macomb County environmentalist Joe DeCaussin. “A pretty big uptick.”

The rise in mosquito population also raises concerns about the spread of things like West Nile Virus, which health departments keep a close eye on.

“It’s concerning. I think as we see with our traps here, we’ve seen kind of an increase of the mosquitoes we’re collecting,” DeCaussin said. “We know that they are breeding more and the weather’s getting nice too. I would expect there to be a lot more mosquitos out there.”

The big things to look for are standing water -- especially in places that may be warm, like gutters, planters, children’s toys and piles of trash or debris hauled out from flooded basements.

“Make sure that they’re in closed containers,” DeCaussin said. “Make sure you get it away from your house and make sure you get it out there for your trash company to pick up.”

Where there’s flooding, there are bugs, and cutting back on that is good for everyone.


About the Authors:

Dane is a producer and media enthusiast. He previously worked freelance video production and writing jobs in Michigan, Georgia and Massachusetts. Dane graduated from the Specs Howard School of Media Arts.