Important weather info: Not only were termites swarming early, but ticks are out in full force and that’s about a month too early. More importantly, harvester ants are coming out; they would never come out if the ground were going to freeze again. Spring is here to stay, and summer is around the corner. Because of the drought, many insects will be trying to get inside your home. Many more will be coming out of the desert looking for water—there isn’t any out there. Surprisingly, there was a mosquito under my outside light last night. I could tell by the way it was standing that it was an Aedes mosquito. Of the 18 species of Aedes in NM, 13 are vectors of encephalitis or West Nile Virus. There won’t be much water out in the wilderness, so they’ll be breeding in standing water around our homes. Mosquitoes aren’t going to go away; they are going to become even more common in cities and towns, where the water is. The termites, ticks, harvester ants and mosquitoes convince me spring is here, and global warming is a real thing. You’ll need to keep plenty of non-DEET mosquito repellant on hand.
Forget The Groundhog: Harvester Ants Say Spring Is Here
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