Warning: Prepare for mosquitoes this winter

• Rising temperatures might allow mosquitoes to survive winter.
• Researchers said mosquitoes can adapt to different temperatures in Florida.
• This could become a bigger problem due to mosquito-borne diseases like Zika and West Nile virus.

Winter is coming — and mosquitoes could be too.

New research from the University of Florida delivered stinging news — that the disease-carrying pests could become a common sight in winters due to climate change.

In warmer, tropical climates, mosquitoes are active all year round — but in seasonal climates, they go into a hibernation called diapause, which essentially limits their activity due to cooler temperatures.

“With climate change, we expect summers to get longer and winters to become shorter and warmer, said Brett Scheffers, assistant professor at the University of Florida’s wildlife ecology and conservation department.

Why mosquitoes could live year-round

The study, published in the journal Ecology, collected mosquitoes in and around Gainesville, FL — a strategic location due to it being the dividing line between subtropical and temperate climates, researchers said.

They gathered the bugs during different parts of the year to see how they responded to changes in temperature.

In the spring, when night temperatures remain colder while the daytime begins to heat up, mosquitoes were able to tolerate wider ranges of temperatures, researchers said. In the summer, there’s less of a difference since temperatures remain warm, while autumn repeats a pattern similar to spring as temperatures cool off, allowing mosquitoes to stretch their tolerance again.

Researchers likened mosquitoes to plastic in the sense that they are like a “rubber band, the range of temperatures they can tolerate stretches and contracts at different times of year.”

“That tells us that as climate change makes our autumns and winters warmer, mosquitoes in more temperate regions are well prepared to be active during those times,” Scheffers said.

Which diseases do mosquitoes spread?

Mosquitoes can carry several diseases that could be transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito, including:

• Zika virus
• West Nile virus
• Chikungunya virus
• Dengue
• Malaria

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, many workers — especially those who work outside — are at risk of encountering an infected mosquitoes. Even business travelers who travel to areas with mosquito-borne disease could be at risk.

As evidence of climate change piles up each day, researchers warned that mosquitoes adapting and surviving to the warmer temperatures could create a greater risk for mosquito-borne diseases.

“The more mosquito activity there is, the greater the risk of these diseases spreading,” Scheffers said.

He added: “When we talk about how climate change might affect plants and animals, we are often talking about species moving to new areas because the conditions are changing — in other words, the arrival of something new. However, climate change will also affect species we live with right now, like highly flexible mosquitoes, and that’s another aspect to consider.”

How to get rid of mosquitoes at home

Before your Fourth of July party becomes the wrong kind of buzzing affair, there are steps you can take to control mosquitoes outside your home.

First, remove any standing water from any surface. This is important because standing water is where mosquitoes can lay eggs. They can settle in forgotten places like planters, pool accessories, trash cans, or even buckets.

For mosquitoes inside your home, the CDC recommends installing screen doors and to not leave doors open; leave the air conditioning on because it can kill mosquitoes too.