MPBN interviews Dill about this year’s mosquito, tick forecast
Jim Dill, a pest management specialist with University of Maine Cooperative Extension, spoke with the Maine Public Broadcasting Network for the report, “How bad will mosquitoes and ticks be this year?” Dill said deer ticks, which escape harsh temperatures by finding warmer places to burrow, didn’t have much to cope with this winter. “I don’t expect that many ticks were killed off by the winter temperatures,” he said. “So I expect that we’re going to have a good population of ticks this year.” However, due to a light snowpack, especially in the southern third of the state, Dill predicts the “early-season mosquitoes probably won’t be as bad.” The first crop of mosquitoes rely on pools of melted water to thrive, according to the report.