Researchers who study mosquito-borne disease point out that dengue, West Nile and Zika spread grows where people build. Suburban developments create thousands of small water containers — flowerpot saucers, clogged gutters, discarded tires — where Aedes aegypti females can lay more than 100 eggs at a time, up to five times in a month.
Florida's 2026 dengue season shows the stakes: over 700 cases statewide, more than 400 locally acquired, including 350-plus in Hillsborough County and 200-plus in Miami-Dade. Warmer temperatures and storm debris add breeding water. Because these mosquitoes breed in household containers, prevention can start with individual yards — emptying standing water cuts the cycle directly.
✦ The mosquitoes that carry dengue don't just follow climate — they follow the water we leave behind.