Will Northeast Wisconsin’s mild winter be a boon or a bane for pest populations? | Fox 11

WLUK) — Our mild winter has been pretty easy on humans in Northeast Wisconsin. But has it also been a little too easy on pests?

Ticks, mosquitoes and their other bitey, crawly insect friends aren’t anyone’s favorite part of the warmer months. However, since our typical bitter cold weather has been hard to come by this winter, does that mean their numbers will explode when we warm up again?

UW-Green Bay biology professor and entomologist Mike Draney says it’s not that simple.

“Oh, it seems like a mild winter for us. But it has also been a low snow winter, and that snow actually protects these animals that overwinter in the leaf litter. It’s like a blanket over the soil,” Draney explained. “If there’s a lot of snow, it doesn’t matter how cold it is up here, it’s gonna be nice down there. If there’s no snow, it can get very cold down there. So, a low-snow winter can actually be harsher for the insects.”

It also varies from bug to bug. Ticks, for example, are very resilient and anytime we hit 45 degrees or so, Draney says they can perk up.

But when it comes to mosquitoes, more factors come into play. In particular, our precipitation trends lately might be bad news for them.

“This low snow winter is actually kind of like drought conditions for them. There’s not gonna be as much water in the springtime, and that could result in fewer of some kinds of mosquitoes,” Draney said.

Ultimately, there are enough variables at play that it’s tough to say what impact — if any — our warm winter has had on these familiar foes. Like always, we’ll just have to do our best to avoid getting bitten once they start to wake up.

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