If you plan on spending time outside this weekend, make sure you pack the bug spray. Early September is usually when the mosquito population starts to dip along with temperatures. According to the UW-Madison Insect Diagnostic Lab, insects like mosquitoes become less active when temperatures are in the 50s, something Door County can usually count on in September. That may not be the case for the early part of September this year, when low temperatures will be 5 to 8 degrees warmer than normal.

While drier-than-normal conditions have limited the mosquito population somewhat, Door County Public Health Environmental Health Specialist Allison Reckelberg says mosquitoes and even ticks can be around much longer if the circumstances are just right.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services confirmed West Nile virus activity among mosquitoes in Milwaukee County and in a bird in Bayfield County earlier this summer, but there have been no such cases in Door County and no human cases statewide. Tick activity in northeast Wisconsin has been on par with 2025. Reckelberg also encourages you to wear a light-fitting, long-sleeved shirt and pants, in addition to using bug spray containing DEET, to protect yourself.