Mosquitoes on the rise in Michigan

DETROIT, July 10 (UPI) -- One effect of the economic downturn in Michigan has produced more breeding grounds for mosquitoes in cities like Detroit, an entomologist says.

Mark Sheperdigian of Rose Pest Solutions in Troy says the summer pests are laying their eggs in foreclosed, half-finished and abandoned houses, The Detroit News reported Friday.

"You've got all these houses in foreclosure or abandoned all over," Sheperdigian says. "And abandoned swimming pools? They get pretty green and can breed mosquitoes by the hundredweight."

Experts warn that waterlogged flowerpots, neglected birdbaths and dirty gutters can become havens for mosquitoes.

Cash-strapped communities across Metro Detroit are unable to fight the increased threat, the newspaper says.

Budget cuts have forced Wayne, Oakland and Macomb county officials to either curtail or entirely eliminate their mosquito abatement programs.

Michael Kaufman, an entomology professor at Michigan State University, says currently there are 60 types of mosquitoes thriving in the state.

"The mosquitoes out there now are terrible," Kaufman says.