Mosquitoes take over the Mesa

Mosquitoes aren’t strangers to summer. But up at Mesa Lakes Lodge, you could say they’ve taken over.

“The mosquitoes are a lot larger and there are just swaths of them,” says GJ resident, Sarah Osteboe.

Osteboe has bites from two weeks ago, now turned into white bumps. And not only are the mosquitoes showing up in numbers, they are huge.

“Bigger than an inch wide, and they are thick,” says Osteboe.

Even with repellent, they are unavoidable: “We use mosquito repellent, we use DEET, and nothing works”.

The wet winter created a ton of standing water. Mesa Lakes Lodge says the mosquitoes are so bad, that it has actually hurt their business this year.

“There’s been a lot of people hanging off down in town versus coming up on the Mesa just because of how crazy it is,” says manager, Carrigan Sliva.

But if you were still looking to get in your last summer trip, there are some ways to avoid the bite. Lodge staff says to bring lots of bug spray or repellent clips. But the bugs can’t be treated.

Staff says that the mosquitoes tend to die down in October.