Mosquitoes Already Populating in Oklahoma

By Jon Jordan, NEWS 9

NORMAN, Oklahoma - With all the rain, Oklahomans could be in store for a rough mosquito season. Standing water is the perfect place for mosquitoes to lay their eggs and in some areas, the pesky insect is already rearing its ugly head.

Residents are already seeing mosquitoes, but some have noticed they look different.

"I've got my raid can handy," Shirley Cannon said.

Cannon isn't messing around even though it's early in the year. With all the rain, she has standing water in her yard and it's creating a mosquito problem.

"Gobs of them at my door when I came home from church today and some on the garage door now. And they're big, not small like you usually see," Shirley Cannon said.

Those who track mosquitoes like Ray Ridlen at OSU said the difference Cannon noticed in the mosquitoes around her house has to do with the type of mosquito the state is dealing with, and it isn't what we're used to.

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"Probably our biggest problem in Oklahoma City is the Asian Tiger Mosquito," Ridlen said.

One reason why Ridlen said this mosquito is such an issue is sprays that cities use to kill off mosquitoes don't work on the Asian Tiger.

"It's not an evening feeder. It's one that will feed on you at 10 in the morning, 12 in the afternoon, that's why it's such a nuisance. It doesn't just feed in the evening like most mosquitoes do," Ridlen said.

And more bites could mean more health risks for Oklahomans.

"Probably as much as anything, there is more problems with secondary infections. Mosquitoes bite you, you scratch it and then you get a skin infection," Ridlen said.

West Nile virus is also a concern with more bites but Ridlen said that shouldn't be an issue until later in the season. California has reported the first and only case of West Nile so far.