The problem of Las Vegas growing mosquitoes is “a time bomb”

Las Vegas – If at some point, mosquitoes could not survive in the climates of the desert, this city is a case study in the way it is wrong.

Mosquitoes generally prefer more tropical and humid conditions, but these bite machines have exploded in the number of the Las Vegas valley In recent years due to a multitude of changes.

A mixture of urban development, climate change, Insecticide resistance and genetic adaptations create a more welcoming environment for insects in southern Nevada.

Las Vegas is hardly alone in his battle against annoying insects. Warm temperatures and changing weather conditions widen the geographic beach in which mosquitoes live and reproduce. In many ways, what is happening here takes place in the southwest of the desert and beyond.

The mosquitoes brought with them not only the nuisance of bugs of bugs, but also the major threat of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes such as dengue And Western Nile Virus in Las Vegas and the rest of the County of Clark.

He also took people off guard.

“People are not mistaken that mosquitoes should not really prosper in desert conditions, but it is clear that the particular whole of species that we have in the County Clark has adapted to local ecology,” said Louisa Messenger, assistant professor in the Department of Environmental and World Health at the University of Nevada, in Las Vegas.

‘A delay bomb’

The species that have entered the Clark county include Culex mosquitoes, which can transport the Western Nile virus, and Aegypti mosquitoes, primary differences in dengue. In addition, Messenger and his colleagues from the UNLV discovered that mosquitoes in Las Vegas are become insecticide resistantA major risk of public health in a city built on tourism.

“It’s a bit of a time bomb,” said Messenger.

For some time now, she has been concerned for some time in the vulneration of Las Vegas for diseases transmitted by mosquitoes. In particular, dengue has increased in North America and South America, with more than 13 million cases recorded on the continents in 2024, According to the centers for disease control and prevention.

“In Vegas, we have more than 48 million visitors who come through our doors each year from all over the planet,” said Messenger. “You just need a few mosquito bites to start local transmission.”

Last year, 26 cases of Western Nile virus were reported in humans in Las Vegas, According to Southern Nevada Health Districtdragging the largest epidemic of 43 cases in the city in 2019. However, in 2024, scientists have always found a Number of mosquito recordings that have been tested positive for the virus In and around the city, which suggests that the risk of exposure was very worrying.

This year, the Department of Public Health has not identified any human case so far, even if mosquitoes have been tested positive for the virus in certain postal codes. Messenger said that he was not well understood what specific factors feed epidemics in certain years and not in others.

“We see these factors overlapping, but they are quite difficult to tease it,” she said. “All we can say with certainty is that we have these years of bumper and these zero years, and they are difficult to predict.”

Southern Nevada Health District was Make monitoring of mosquitoes in the region Since 2004. Its meticulous files have shown what species of mosquitoes have been in the Las Vegas valley year after year and where these flying insects have been tested positive for diseases.

One of the most amazing trends in data was the explosive growth in Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes, which were identified for the first time in Las Vegas in 2017, said Vivek Raman, Southern Nevada Health District environmental supervisor.

The “relentless dualrs” spread

“In 2017, this mosquito was found in a few postal codes,” said Raman, who oversees the monitoring of health district monitoring program. “A few years later, these were six postal codes. Then 12 postal codes, then perhaps 20, and now it’s in 48 different postal codes through the valley.”

In addition to being able to spread dengue, these insects are a major nuisance.

“Aedes Aegypti are very aggressive biting mosquitoes,” said Raman. “They are only relentless cocks.”

Unlike Culex mosquitoes, which prefer reproduction near the largest sources of water such as non -pretended swimming pools, sandstones or detention basins, Aedes Aegypti tend to reproduce in much less deep stagnant waters.

“One of the reasons for which they spread so quickly is that the mosquito can lay its eggs in small containers, as if the rain fills the toy or the tires of a child or a wheelbarrow,” said Raman. “All you need is a few centimeters of water.”

Urban development in Las Vegas has also inadvertently stimulated the spread of mosquitoes in the city. Golf courts, human manufacturing lakes and other forms of artificial irrigation have all made this outpost in the nevada desert a welcome for mosquitoes, according to Messenger.

Climate change is probably also a factor, and it is an active research area for Messenger and other scientists. Warmer temperatures are Expand the range of geographies for mosquitoes Around the world. A warmer atmosphere can also contain more humidity, which increases humidity and rain, the two user -friendly conditions.

In Las Vegas, the way in which the interaction between local environmental factors and the evolution of climatic trends affects mosquito populations is less well understood, but the implications are essential.

“Las Vegas is a kind of case study for what climate change will be like in other parts of the world,” said Messenger. “We see record temperatures, we become much more arid, precipitation becomes much more absurd and unpredictable. This is what the main parts of the world look like in the next 15 to 25 years.”

What this means for mosquitoes in the city remains to be seen, but the problem until now shows no sign of slowdown.

The Southern Nevada Health District makes public awareness on how to identify and protect against the reproduction sites of mosquitoes in and around houses and how to prevent mosquito bites. However, controlling the number of mosquitoes in the city – and therefore control of public health risk – will require a coordinated effort of the local government, said Messenger. Currently, there are none in Las Vegas.

“You have companies deprived of pests that people can call for serious infestations, you have work in wetlands, but what we do not have, what many other jurisdictions have, is a centralized and coordinated reduction,” said Messenger.

This lack of coordination resulted in mosquito populations strengthening resistance to insecticides, she added. A centralized effort could assess which chemicals are sure to use – especially around humans – and monitor the performance of insecticides and pesticides to prevent mosquitoes from strengthening immunity.

In the years to come, said Messenger, prevention and control will be essential to protect residents of Las Vegas and its many visitors from around the world.

“The main thing is that this is entirely avoidable,” she said. “No one in southern Nevada, in Clark County, should be biting through mosquitoes and contracting any type of virus.”