A Snack Between Seasons: Mosquitoes Are Out Looking For A Quick Bite

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Getting attacked by mosquitoes? Well, you're not alone. Officials say they've had plenty of calls for the pesky insects in just the past few days.

Is it just a seasonal reoccurrence or are the rains causing the influx?

"They are all over," said Alfonso Williams while walking his dog. "Buzzing around and biting you on the hand or whatever's exposed.

Everyone said just about the same thing Wednesday.

"You can see them just standing here. You got a couple on you and a couple on me," said Nick Trusso of Natomas.

Neighbors in Natomas did a good job swatting, but can't escape the bite.

"I guess from all the flooding it's to be expected, though," said Will Romero while at the park.

We asked Vector Control, has all this rain caused the mosquitoes to come out?

"No, not so much," said Steve Abshier with Vector Control in Yuba/Sutter County.

He said the annoying mosquitoes you see out now are winter bugs and use the warmer temperatures to get a meal.

"They are going through the winter as an adult mosquito and need that halfway point blood mule to sustain them and help them survive the winter," he said.

Which is good news.

"They are not capable of transmitting Zika and the ones that are biting now are also not capable of transmitting West Nile virus," he said.

But how will all this wet weather affect the next season for mosquitoes?

"By the time that we reach May, June, July, typically it's our dry season and we don't have mosquitoes being produced from rains," he added.

Abshier said it's too hard to forecast just how bad it will be, but in our region, he says the rain really isn't the issue.

"Most of the mosquito production that we see our agriculture-related uses of water where water stands for a long enough period of time to raise mosquitoes," he said.

So while these insects may bite, you can rest assured you'll likely just have to deal with the itch.

Experts say the active ingredient Deet will help keep these bugs away.

Most bottles only have 15% Deet, but if you're outside for longer periods of time you'll want to get a higher percentage.