City Cast

Why Philly Could See More Mosquitoes This Summer

Brittany Valentine
Brittany Valentine
Posted on July 12   |   Updated on July 17
Protect yourself and your family from mosquitoes this summer. (Christopher Laszlo Bonis/Getty Images)

Protect yourself and your family from mosquitoes this summer. (Christopher Laszlo Bonis/Getty Images)

Mosquito season is here and this year, Philly ranked seventh among “mosquito cities” according to the pest control company Orkin. It listed metro areas by where the company gets called most for mosquito control services. In 2022, Philly came in second, just after Chicago.

Because these pesky insects thrive in warm weather, Philly’s increasingly hot summers may attract more of them.

Last year, Philly had 168 “mosquito days,” defined as days with an average humidity of 42% or higher, and daily temperatures between 50–95°F. This number has risen from 154, the number of mosquito days in 1979.

Here are a few ways to prevent mosquitos and their bites:

🔵 Eliminate any standing water from pots, pet water dishes, swimming pool covers, potted plant trays, etc. Clean out clogged rain gutters.

🔵 Keep grass under three inches.

🔵 Apply repellant with one of these active ingredients: DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), para-Menthane-diol (PMD), 2-Undecanone.

Stay safe out there!

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