TOLEDO, Ohio — With the summer season in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan comes heat, humidity, and pestering mosquitos.
The Toledo Area Sanitary District said it's seen an increase in these annoying critters, and it's trying to do something about it.
Sam Halterman lives in Maumee and said he's not a mosquito fan.
"If there could be a way to safety get rid of all mosquitos that would be awesome."
Halterman also said even though he's been spending a lot of time with his family outside, the mosquitos make it tough.
"As we've gone to different Metro Parks, there are some that we've decided not to go to if it's the evening time," he said. "We typically try to go in the morning instead just because we know we're going to get eaten alive."
Toledo Area Mosquito Control recently focused on fogging Monclova Township, Springfield Township, and parts of Maumee. It's a process the department uses to maintain the number of mosquitoes in areas where there's a high population of them.
Halterman said mosquitos have been bad in his Maumee neighborhood. But the county's trucks weren't in his neck of the woods during the recent fogging.
"I wish they would just extend it just a little bit more," Halterman said. "We would have loved to be included in that."
Biologist Jacob Sublett with Toledo Mosquito Control said where they send the trucks is based on high numbers of biting mosquitos and those with viruses, like West Nile.
"Every application that we do is in response to surveillance, so we'll never go out to do any type of application unless the evidence is supporting it," Sublett said.
Sublett explained the number of mosquitos so far this year are more than what Lucas County had altogether last year, and said mosquitos that carry West Nile are actually something they see every year.
"However, we would note that it is probably a little bit earlier, and a little bit more that we've seen in past seasons," Sublett said.
At the time of this report, no human cases of West Nile were reported in Ohio in 2024, and only one case in Michigan.
Halterman said there may be more bug spray in his future, especially with more trips outside with his one-month-old.
"My wife, she won't go to some parks without bug spray," he said.
The health department says using E.P.A. approved bug spray is a good idea to protect yourself from mosquito-borne diseases.
For a full list from the Lucas County Health Department of ways you can protect yourself, click HERE.
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