LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Are you getting mosquito bites? You are not alone.
Already this season more people are talking about getting bit more than every year before.
It's a problem that is keeping some pest control companies extremely busy in comparison to past years.
We caught up with JS Pest Control's operation manager John Longhurst.
"It is unbelievable. Before last year we would get a handful of calls. Middle of summer last summer, it started getting busy, and this summer it is out of control," he said. "I can't explain it, but 80% of our calls are in the northwest to the Summerlin areas."
After a spike in requests last year, they've already started treating for mosquitoes this season.
"Phone is ringing off the hook," Longhurst said. "Twenty to 30 a day, just us."
Technician Rob Silva showed us the two treatments, one being a small trap placed in the shade that has water, a screen, and additive that brings the mosquito to the trap.
The other option is fogging.
"We pretty much want to go inside of the hedges," Silva said. "We have had this two or three months now and we get calls everyday."
So what has changed?
The fairly new mosquito to the valley is the Aedes aegypti. Their population exploded last summer, mostly on the west side of the valley.
The Southern Nevada Health District has an interactive map that monitors their traps to see if disease is prevalent. Recently a case of West Nile virus was detected by the SNHD.
A big problem is that these mosquitoes don't need much to reproduce.
"A bottle cap of water is all it needs to breed," Longhurst said.
Dumping any standing water can help stop the spread.
It's a problem that many are buzzing about.
