Mosquito Forecast for Labor Day Weekend Shows Select Cities Remain Ripe for Biting Bandits

Think mosquito season is over? Thermacell Repellents says ideal conditions have been linger long past summer.

Labor Day in the US marks the unofficial end of summer and many of consumers have big plans to celebrate outdoors. And depending on where one lives, there remains a need to be vigilant with bug repellent. Pesky mosquitos are still a concern, especially this weekend in cities like Jacksonville, FL, Phoenix and Philadelphia, according to Thermacell Repellents, Inc., a maker of mosquito repelling devices.

“While many think that mosquito season is confined to summer months or periods of very hot weather for regions that don't experience the four seasons, with our evolving seasonality, ideal temperatures for mosquitoes are often prolonged well into the fall season or months of historically cool and moist weather conditions,” said Dr. Benjamin McMillan, a senior biologist at Thermacell Repellents.

The “ideal conditions” for mosquitos breeding include consistently warm temperatures ranging from 60° F (15.5° C) – 80° F (26.6° C) and moderate-to-high humidity levels.  And just like wearing white pants after Labor Day, mosquitos are pushing the rules of the season too.

In fact, as the seasons evolve with climate change, warm temperatures seem to stick around later into fall, and with them, so do the mosquitoes, according to Thermacell.

The Bedford, MA -based company’s Mosquito Activity Forecast for Labor Day Weekend  shows that he weather leading up to the holiday will be favorable for higher-than-normal mosquito activity. Hot and humid conditions are expected in the Southeastern and Southwestern regions of the US, which means increased mosquito activity across those areas. And following a Summer with record heat levels and above-average precipitation levels in the Southwest, Northern Rockies and the Southern Appalachians, mosquito populations are expected to stick around across the nation and well past the “unofficial” end of summer, according to Thermacell.

“Mosquito populations will continue to build as long as temperatures remain favorable and don't begin to cool rapidly in the fall. Over the past three years, mosquito populations have trended higher during August, September, and October. This year is no exception, and we can expect to see increased mosquito activity throughout the nation for Labor Day weekend,” said McMillan.

Working with meteorologists, entomologists, and forecasting data from AccuWeather.com, Thermacell uses a mosquito pressure index that predicts mosquito activity at a local level. The index ranks mosquito pressure on a 1-to-10 scale, with one indicating moderate pressure and 10 indicating extremely high pressure.

Thermacell’s forecast is predicting strong levels of mosquito activity for these 10 metropolitan areas for the holiday weekend—Jacksonville, FL, Jackson, MS, New Orleans, Birmingham, AL, Philadelphia, Houstin, Tulsa, OK, Louisviile, KY, Salt Lake City, UT and Phoenix, AZ.

Thermacell technology uses heat to diffuse what it calls a “highly-effective repellent” into the air creating a zone of mosquito protection that keeps the bugs 20-feet from the repeller.