Is the First Frost Enough to Kill Michigan Mosquitoes?

It's practically mid-October and here I am still itching and covered in bug bites. How can that be?

More importantly, is there any end in sight?

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I was over to a friend's house recently and we were watching Tigers baseball, Big Ten football, and WMU hockey on their outdoor TVs. Is that "Pure Michigan" or what? It was a warm October evening out on the deck; the nearly-full moon was shining overhead as it was nearing twilight, and the birds were chirping.

Wait, did I say birds? I meant bats.

I know bats are our friends and they eat pests like all these pesky mosquitoes, but I still get nervous while they're flying overhead. At some point we had to bust out and light the citronella candles as the mosquitoes made us their main course! It's been a whole week now and I'm still finding new itchy red bumps on my body.

I can't help but wonder, now that we've experienced our first few frosts here in Southwest Michigan, mosquito season must be nearing its end-- right?

As is often the case in Michigan, it always depends on the weather. According to the Lansing State Journal,

Though recent temperatures across Michigan have turned cooler, mosquitoes still emerge during warm spells...In Michigan, mosquito season is expected to end when temperatures are consistently cold, which typically occurs in November.

Just like fall allergy season is starting earlier and lasting longer in Michigan, so is mosquito season. And with this recent unseasonably warm and dry start to fall we're also being robbed of peak fall foliage colors this year too.