Swarms of pesky mosquitoes have recently made themselves at home in Madison, an event experts say is a consequence of the recent overwhelming rainfall.

"What we're paying for now is the 15 inches of rain we had," University of Wisconsin entomologist Phil Pellitteri said. "It fueled what we call ‘floodwater mosquitoes.’"

According to John Hausbeck, an environmental epidemiologist from the Madison-Dane County Public Health Department, the appearance of such high numbers of theselarge mosquito populationses was not a surprise.

"The expectation is to get such a peaek after the kind of flooding that we had," Hausbeck said. "The mosquitoes lay their eggs in damp soil at the edge of the water with the expectation that at some point that water will rise."

Hausbeck said the rising water inundates the eggs, and then it is only a matter of a week to 10ten days before they become full-grown mosquitoes.

The irritation caused by the copious amounts numbers of mosquitoes has only been made worse by the fact that mosquito levels have been low in Wisconsin the past couple summers, according to Pellitteri. Low levels in the past have been caused by unusually dry summers.

However, Pellitteri said the eggs of floodwater mosquitoes can survive up to 3-4three to four years before they hatch, and therefore build up their numbers year after year.

"They're almost like little time bombs," Pellitteri said.

Hausbeck also said some of the mosquitoes Madison is seeing now could be coming from surrounding areas.

"The floodwater mosquito is one that travels long distances, upwards of 15 miles, so we could be dealing with mosquitoes in the Madison area that hatched in distant parts of the county or even nearby counties," Hausbeck said.

However, both Pellitteri and Hausbeck agreed they are most likely harmless.

"We don't expect these mosquitoes to be carrying West Nile virus," Hausbeck said. "They're mostly a nuisance biter."

Hausbeck said the flooding can actually disturb the eggs of the type of mosquito that carries the virus.

Only one case of West Nile virus has been confirmed in Dane County this year. The victim, who became infected in late August, is currently recovering.

Nonetheless, Hausbeck still recommends people wear either insect repellent or long sleeves and pants when outdoors at night, as one can never be sure of which kind of mosquito will bite.

"You can never tell, so it's important to be vigilant on wearing the mosquito repellents," Hausbeck said. "I think that it's critical when you're choosing a repellent that you're looking at the label and following the directions for use very carefully."

Hausbeck stressed that parents and guardians should not let kids apply their own repellent, but they should apply it themselves as a safety precaution.

According to Pellitteri, these mosquitoes could continue to bother people for another a month.

"Once you get a hatch like this of adults, it takes at least 3-4 three to four weeks to settle down," Pellitteri said.

He warned, however, that if heavy rain continues, the pesky bugs could stick around even longer.