Housing Bubble Breeds More Mosquitoes

The housing glut that has homeowners and real estate agents worried across the country now has a negative environmental effect as well. With so many houses waiting unsold, no one is around to keep on top of cleaning the pools.

As anyone who has gone fishing in a swamp, visited the Arctic during summer or lived in Minnesota knows, standing water makes perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. It's more than just a nuisance from itchy bites that experts are worried about, however. With the spread of potentially deadly West Nile Virus, that means cause for concern.

Plus, with global warming accelerating, warmer temperatures across North America give an added boost to breeding mosquitoes. Hopefully, towns can identify the problem and encourage people to clean up those pools.

More bouts of insecticide spraying would introduce more toxins into the environment, and will speed up the process of mosquitoes developing resistance. Looks like the pool boy had a pretty important job after all.

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