[Cowboy Bob]

she was “scared” by the number of ticks, mosquitos, and other blood-sucking creatures that are not dying out during the mild winters:

Cold winters don't kill them. Otherwise, they would be extinct.

[dforest]

They are still crossing the border. Lots of bloodsuckers.

[Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Some are killed -- mosquitoes hibernate but the colder it is the fewer will survive hibernation. Some die laying eggs in freezing water. On a good year many will die, reducing the number to come out in the spring and lay eggs. Milder winters = fewer dead mosquitoes = more mosquitoes come summer.

Ticks stay active in much cooler weather; as long as it is above freezing they're looking to feed, and some, like adult deer ticks, don't go dormant at all, although luckily the Lyme-carrying nymphs do. Although they stay active to one degree or another during the cold months I believe severe cold can reduce their numbers.

For the past few years I've been swatting mosquitoes into November. Pretty unusual for where I live.

[BobL]

“Cold winters don’t kill them. Otherwise, they would be extinct.”

EXACTLY - get a dig at our side. I know that Deer Ticks in that part of the country are EPIDEMIC simply because they’ve allowed their hosts to multiply without control...and the hosts are deer, where they live by the hundreds on each deer, without harming the deer. But not so great for humans, they are causing huge amounts of Lyme Disease...a vicious condition if not immediately treated.

I STRONGLY suspect that this new tick is surviving and thriving due to the Leftists now running that part of the country.

[Pravious]

The winter here in the East was anything but “mild.” It’s chilly out today... and it’s late June!