Owatonna’s Number One Enemy Won’t Be Around Much Longer

Don't worry! The Owatonna mosquitos won't swarm you much longer.

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The Owatonna Parks Maintenance division will begin spraying for the horrible blood-sucking machines on Monday the 14th, as long as the weather cooperates. AKA, the wind speeds can't be ferocious, and lightning can't grace the sky, which in Minnesota could happen any day.

The mosquitos have been so atrocious. I thought they were going to pick me up and carry me away when I was walking through Kaplan's Woods Park a few days ago.

The maintenance crew will first spray around wooded areas and continue until the whole city is complete.

Hopefully, Minnesota's weather cooperates, and the process can be completed quickly. Even though I spent the winter mentally preparing for 'squito season, I'm already tired of itching.

Things You Didn't Know About Mosquitos:

• Only female mosquitos draw blood from animals and humans. Male mosquitos feed on plant nectar, but females need blood before they can lay their eggs.
• Female mosquitos can lay up to 300 eggs at one time. (That's alarming.)
• Most male species only live for two weeks, but females can live up to a month. (Of course, the ones that bite live longer...)
• A mosquito's wing beats up to 500 times per second.
• Mosquitos have terrible vision. They rely on the carbon dioxide we exhale to track us.
• When the temperature is under 50 degrees, Mosquitos may slip into torpor (a state of decreased physiological activity).

It's time to say 'au revoir' to the little critters. They will not be missed.