Does It Feel Like Mosquitoes Are Getting Worse?

Short Wave

NPR

Daily News, Nature, Life Sciences, Astronomy, Science, News

4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 24 June 2025

⏱️ 14 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Mosquitoes are the deadliest animal on the planet, and some of them may be on the rise. At least in listener Abigail Krich-Starr's area, that's due to warmer, wetter weather — which, yes, is linked to climate change. But it doesn't stop there: Ecologists and entomologists say increased heat could also alter mosquito behavior, shift their natural habitat, and even change how pathogens incubate and spread inside their bodies.

So how do you protect yourself against the (mosquito) masses? Our experts suggested several things:
- Assess your risk by checking local mosquito surveillance efforts, like this one for the state of Massachusetts
- Consider rescheduling outdoor events happening between dusk and dawn, which is peak biting time for multiple mosquito species
- Wear long-sleeved shirts and pants, weather-permitting, to limit exposed skin
- Use an EPA-approved DEET repellent, and/or a permethrin spray for clothing and outdoor gear

This episode is part of Nature Quest, a monthly Short Wave segment that answers listener questions about the local environment.

Got a question about changes in your local environment? Send a voice memo to [email protected] with your name, where you live and your question. We might make it into our next Nature Quest episode!

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for NPR and the following message comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
0:05.4	RWJF is a national philanthropy working toward a future where health is no longer a privilege but a right.
0:12.1	Learn more at RWJF.org.
0:15.6	You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.
0:21.2	Hi everyone, Emily Kwong here, and this month's nature quest starts with one of our listeners,
0:26.3	Abby Krish Star, who lives in Massachusetts.
0:28.9	I grew up in the suburbs of Boston, and mosquitoes were terrible every summer.
0:33.9	You know, I got tons of bites.
0:35.1	I would swell up.
0:36.0	It was so itchy.
0:38.0	And then in my 20s, I moved closer to the city, and I realized that there were no mosquitoes.
0:44.4	I could leave my door open or windows without screens and, like, bugs didn't come in.
0:49.1	And for this brief period of time, life was divinely blissfully mosquito-free.
0:55.0	And then, I don't know when it was, maybe about five years ago, I started to notice that suddenly there were mosquitoes again.
1:01.0	Just being in our backyard, each year and recent years has become harder and harder.
1:08.0	Like last year, we couldn't even be out there.
1:10.0	Now, she is locked in a battle with the mosquitoes of Cambridge.
1:15.0	Her ping pong games with her husband outdoors are still getting cut short.
1:19.0	Because we were just getting eaten alive.
1:21.2	So Abby wants us to figure out, what is happening?
1:25.2	Like, why is it that 15 years ago in Cambridge, Somerville, there were no mosquitoes,
1:30.7	and now, like, they're everywhere.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 21 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.