The Best Thing About Minnesota’s Extreme Cold and Snowy Winter
We've been enduring a particularly cold and snowy winter even by Minnesota standards, but there's at least one good thing about it.
We're in the middle of the snowiest February ever in Rochester, and before the snow, we had bitter cold temperatures of 30 below zero. But, we DO have the Polar Vortex to thank for killing off at least one invasive species here in Minnesota.
You might have seen the meme going around social media that says something to the effect of, "Sure it's 30 below, but on the plus side-- no mosquitoes!" And, as it turns out, that might actually be true-- for some non-native pests.
According to this report from the National Pest Management Association, up to 95% of the emerald ash borer population may not have survived our extreme cold. Their report says those species, which aren't native to the Land of 10,000 Lakes just aren't hearty enough to survive this kind of cold. (See what happens when you just move into Minnesota, you invasive ash borers?!?)
The report also mentioned that a big percentage of stink bugs, another invasive species to Minnesota, probably didn't make it through that bitter cold snap either. So at least our extreme cold is good for that.
If you're thinking that other Minnesota pests, like mosquitoes, ticks and termites might also have fallen victim to the cold, not so fast. The report says those native species have, like the rest of us Minnesotans, figured out how to survive the cold-- and will no doubt be back again to pester us once the weather warms up this spring and summer.
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