All it takes is a few warm days for the bug population to come out of hiding and begin tormenting residents.

Monday, March 20, 2000

All it takes is a few warm days for the bug population to come out of hiding and begin tormenting residents.

And Lawrence Countians found that out firsthand recently when temperatures climbed into springtime range for a few days, said Charles Kouns, Ironton Health Department superintendent.

"Last week, when the temperatures got up in the 80s, everybody started getting bothered with mosquitoes," Kouns said. "We started getting complaints that quick all over town."

Mosquitoes shouldn’t be a big problem this year if people are careful. The weather service is predicting a dry summer and that usually means fewer mosquitoes, Kouns said.

But there are still things area residents can do to reduce the number even further, he added.

"Anyone with automobile tires, make sure there’s no water in them," Kouns said. "Also make sure there is no water in any other container. Invert the containers so they won’t store water. Without water, the mosquitoes have nowhere to hatch."

Other insects also have been peeping their heads out of hibernation lately, and wreaking some local havoc, said Dave Dyke, extension agent for the Extension Service.

"The big thing, we’ve been getting calls on box elder bugs," Dyke said. "They look like lightening bugs – orange and black. They were big all last summer, big swarms through the fall and in the spring, they’re coming into people’s houses. They don’t damage anything, but they can be a real nuisance."

Other insects showing up around the county are not as harmless, Dyke added.

Spruce or other conifer tree type lovers should be on the look out for brown needles, he said.

"Right now is a time to watch out for spruce spider mites," Dyke said. "They’re a cool season mite that primarily attacks spruce and also other kinds of conifers. They work from the trunk outwards. They turn needles on spruce trees bronze and then a real bad brown."

And although the number of mosquitoes in the area will probably drop this summer, the mites, as well as many other insects will more than likely multiply, Dyke said.

"With these couple of mild winters in a row, I would predict that the insect pest population is going to be up this year," he said. "We thought it was going to be up last year and it wasn’t as bad as we thought. With two mild winters in a row, it might really do it this year."

Area residents already saw the damage aphids did last year when their numbers grew, Dyke said. And the insects that attack everything from roses to tomato plants are expected to come back in full force again.

"The aphids aren’t out yet, but when the weather starts getting warmer, people should keep an eye out for them," Dyke said.