Brace Yourself For A Possible Mosquito-Fest

If the continuing rain is getting you down, here's another reason to root for sunny skies: All this wet weather could mean we're in store for a larger-than-usual number of mosquitoes this season.

First came the cool, damp month of June. Then came the heavy rains of the past few weeks. And now, more thunderstorms. David Henley of the East Middlesex Mosquito Control Project said those are potentially ideal conditions for an unpleasant summertime pest.

"I think that we're going to have a sharp increase in mosquitoes," Henley said. "So over the next couple of weeks, if you're planning any outdoor events, you might not want to schedule them to happen at dusk — and be prepared to have a lot of mosquitoes in your yard."

Mosquitoes could be especially heavy near riverbank flood plains and salt marshes. But Henley said it's too early to know if there may also be a spike in mosquito-borne illnesses. That's because diseases like West Nile virus and Eastern equine encephalitis don't usually appear until later in the summer.