THE SKEETERS ARE COMING!

Get ready… here it comes. Mos­quito sea­son is almost here. While the drought of 2012 meant fewer mos­qui­toes, the wet weather lately may have the oppo­site effect.

That means stand­ing water in fields, yards and else­where. Stand­ing water and warm weather — the per­fect recipe for mos­qui­toes.

Mos­qui­toes need stand­ing water for their eggs. Female mos­qui­toes lay their eggs on stand­ing water.

Peo­ple in the area are being reminded to empty bird baths and water dishes for pets on a weekly basis and replace with clean water. Clean­ing out clogged gut­ters also helps. The main thing is to make sure you don’t have any stand­ing water where mos­qui­tos can breed.

Hav­ing a bat house nearby will help, as bats eat mos­qui­toes. If you have a small back­yard pond or pool, experts say to intro­duce koi or gold­fish as they eat mos­quito larvae.