Lack of mosquitos doesn't mean lack of West Nile in Black Hills - KOTA Territory News

Lack of mosquitos doesn't mean lack of West Nile in Black Hills

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Some good news with the drought: fewer mosquitos>  But even that comes at a cost.

According to Scott Guffey, Pennington County Weed and Pest Director, there are two types of mosquitos.

One referred to as the flood mosquito, whose numbers are down due to the drought. And the drought mosquito that thrives in conditions like this summer

Guffey says the drought mosquito has a higher risk of carrying the West Nile virus. And the next few weeks are when the threat is the highest. "People tend to get complacent because they are not seeing the mosquitoes so they are not using their repellents and stuff, but the risk is still out there so, it's a good idea if you're doing activities in the early morning or late evening, dawn and dusk timeframe, to put on some mosquito repellent just in case," says Guffey.

Guffey says our worst West Nile years were back in the early 2000's, during the last prolonged drought.

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