Maricopa County’s Vector Control Division has received more than 6,000 complaints about mosquito bites this season. Last year, the number of complaints was lower, around 1,000.
The Vector Control Division says mosquito bite complaints have substantially increased after recent rains.
Speaking on PBS’s Arizona Horizon, Division Manager John Townsend said there are both daytime and nighttime-biting mosquitoes.
He says the nighttime mosquitoes can be dangerous because they pick up West Nile virus and St. Louis encephalitis.
“West Nile, which everybody talks about, are the nighttime biting mosquitoes and they pick that virus up from the birds," he said.
He says the nighttime mosquitoes are fairly new to the Phoenix area.
“Those are mosquitoes that were imported here about 25 years ago. We didn’t have them before that and they breed right in people's backyards. They’re container breeders. They prefer human blood as their bloodmeal,” he said.
He says daytime mosquitoes are less dangerous and increasingly cooler temperatures at night will keep them from hatching.
Residents can find mosquito information and file complaints on the division’s website.
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