Iowans may have to deal with something more than the excessive heat and humidity this summer in the form of stinging and biting insects.

“People could expect an increase in mosquitoes within the next couple of weeks because of the combination of periodic rain and rise in temperatures we have had recently,” said Ken Holscher, associate professor of entomology. “As long as we continue to get periodic rain all summer and into early fall the insect population will continue to develop.”

Most insect’s populations are largely determined by the weather.

Long-term weather patterns can have an influence on insect populations, but it may take several years to become evident. Right now, the most important predictor and influence on insect populations is short-term weather patterns, since they can have significant effects on the mosquitoes, Holscher said.

“Predicting mosquitoes in Iowa is fairly easy if you can predict the rain and temperature,” Holscher said.

Mosquitoes can be found near bodies of water and cornfields, but most of them emerge from puddles of water left after rainstorms.

Holscher said people can avoid being bitten by mosquitoes and ticks by following some basic rules.

Since mosquitoes are mainly active in the morning and evening anyone can take advantage of this by planning their recreation and other important things in the afternoon, Holscher said.

Wearing long pants and sleeves can help as well.

“If a person wears long sleeves and pants it considerably reduces the areas of skin a mosquito can bite or tick can’t attach to you,” he said. “But most people feel this is too extreme and won’t do it because they get hot.”

An alternative to wearing long sleeves and pants, without the problem of heat, would be to wear loose-fitting clothing, Holscher said.

“If a person wears tight-fitting clothing it’s easier for a mosquito to get through the top layer of clothing and bite you, but by wearing loose-fitting clothing a mosquito cannot easily get through the top layer of clothing to get to the skin,” Holscher said.

Holscher said most insect repellents will work, although a person should make sure they use them sparingly.

“If a person uses too much [insect repellent] it may cause neurological problems because the active ingredients sink into the skin, especially in younger people,” Holscher said. “When I look for an insect repellent I always look for one with the least active ingredients.”

Furthermore, people who spend a lot of time outdoors in grassy, bushy or woody areas should also avoid lying on the ground. This increases the chance of a tick attaching to your body since they are found at the soil level and not in trees, Holscher said.

“I always say ticks don’t find people, people find ticks,” Holscher said. “And the opposite applies to mosquitoes.”

The biggest concern about ticks today is the small portion of deer ticks that are carrying Lyme disease – an inflammatory disease, usually characterized by a rash followed by flu-like symptoms including fever, joint pain and headache. If left untreated, the disease can result in chronic nerve and heart dysfunction.

“When a person thinks that they have had an encounter with a tick, they should check their body carefully. If [you] do notice a tick has attached itself to you, I strongly recommend using a pair of tweezers to take it off,” Holscher said.

“Once a tick has attached itself to your body it normally doesn’t start feeding for a period of 24 hours, but if someone tries to remove one by using something other than tweezers, such as using lighter fluid, it can excite the tick and provoke increased salivation.”

Over the years, many Iowans have submitted samples of insects to Holscher to analyze, especially ticks due to fear of Lyme disease. Since he started teaching at Iowa State 20 years ago, he has seen a significant increase in the number of people concerned about the disease.

“When I first started teaching here there wasn’t anyone sending me samples, but now I get an average of over 100 a year now, but only about a half a dozen of them are deer ticks,” he said.

Russell Currier of the Iowa State Health Department, said they receive the most calls from people who have been bit by a tick between the months of May and June.

“Iowa is what you would call a low-incident Lyme disease state,” Currier said. “On average we only get 20 to 30 cases of Lyme disease per year.”

He has noticed a rare increase in the number of deer ticks in central Iowa within the last three years and thinks the conditions are reasonable to predict a possible increase in the number of Lyme disease cases.

“In fact we just got a call from a scout leader today that had been bitten by a tick,” Currier said. “I usually tell people to just wait it out because it takes 24 hours for the tick to feed and another 24 hours to see any results, so you’re looking at a 48-hour window.”