I’m sure it’s happened to all of us at one time or another: a beautiful outdoor adventure, be it picnic, beach visit, or hike through the woods, has been ruined by the high-pitched whine and painful bite of a mosquito. Or...several mosquitoes. The most visceral reminder of your vacation shouldn’t be a series of inflamed and itchy bites! So, wouldn’t it be great if the Weather Channel app included a “mosquito forecast” in the same way it predicts the weather?
It’s already a reality. The Weather Channel has teamed up with OFF! insect repellent to create the OFF!Cast Mosquito Forecast, which analyzes weather information and real-world mosquito data to predict mosquito populations and activity levels by zip code. Other information was taken into account, such as historic activity patterns by these (at the least, annoying, and at the worst, disease-carrying) insects and varying weather conditions that affect mosquito larvae, such as temperature, humidity levels, rain, and more.
To test it out, we downloaded the Weather Channel app and added a zip code for a destination we’d like to visit. It was interesting to see the wealth of information besides the typical temperature predictions and overall weather forecast. We could see the sunburn risk based on UV index, the risk level for allergy, breathing/air quality and cold/flu for the zip code, and more...but we couldn’t immediately access the mosquito forecast. What we needed to do (we now know) is click on “daily” at the bottom of the screen and then scroll down to find the mosquito forecast. Our result was simply “mosquito risk is medium,” with the invitation to click to learn more. At the next screen, there’s an option to sign up for OffCast! alerts to know when mosquitoes are airborne, a report that can be delivered to your email inbox on a weekly basis.
What you do with the information is up to you. Do you want to stay inside from dusk to dawn, the hours when mosquitoes are most active, or perhaps apply a repellent before venturing out? You'll definitely want to avoid shaded areas with standing water, which is where mosquitoes breed. Fun fact: many cities, such as San Diego, will give you free fish to put in any backyard body of water, such as a fountain or swimming pool, to interrupt the breeding cycle.