Vegas mosquito problem is “ticking time bomb”
While mosquitos usually prefer humid, tropical climates, the insects have “exploded” in number in Las Vegas. Urban development, climate change, insecticide resistance, and genetic adaptations have meant the insects are thriving in the world-famous city.
But it is not alone. Warmer temperatures and changing weather patterns are increasing the geographic range for mosquitos to live and breed. It’s not just the nuisance of bites but the threat of diseases, including dengue fever and West Nile virus, that they bring to Las Vegas and the surrounding area.
“People aren’t wrong that mosquitoes shouldn’t really thrive in desert conditions, but it’s clear that the particular set of species that we do have in Clark County has adapted to the local ecology,” assistant professor in the department of environmental and global health at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, (UNLV) Louisa Messenger said.
The species that has taken over the region include Culex mosquitos, known carriers of West Nile virus, and Aedes aegypti mosquitos, the main spreader of dengue fever. Messenger and her colleagues at UNLV have found that the insects are becoming resistant to insecticides.
“It is a little bit of a ticking time bomb,” Messenger said.
For some time, she and her team have been concerned over how vulnerable Las Vegas is to diseases spread by mosquitos. Dengue in particular has been increasing in number in the Americas with over 13 million cases recorded in the region in 2024 according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
“In Vegas, we have more than 48 million visitors coming through our doors every year from all over the planet,” Messenger said. “It just takes a couple of mosquito bites to start local transmission.”
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