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Atlanta Mosquito Forecast

Today's mosquito activity in Atlanta, the week ahead, and what to do about it. Updated hourly.

Bite Index · Sunday, November 8

Moderate

Moderate mosquito activity in Atlanta today: expect some bites at dusk.

Some bites at dusk and dawn, mostly near creeks, gardens and shade.

Quieter than a typical November in Fulton County (usually around 36).

  • Only 0.1 in. of rain Oct 16–Oct 29, so few new breeding sites; what's biting is coming from irrigation, pools and creeks.
  • At a two-week average of 62°F, larvae develop slowly and numbers are easing.
  • It's the edge of the season; warm weeks like this one keep it going past the calendar.

The week ahead

Each day's Bite Index, from this week's weather and the rain that is still hatching. Forecast days get less certain as the week goes on.

  1. Today
    21Mod.70°/42°dry
  2. Mon
    20Low73°/44°dry
  3. Tue
    22Mod.71°/48°dry
  4. Wed
    26Mod.73°/55°dry
  5. Thu
    21Mod.67°/47°0.1 in
  6. Fri
    25Mod.48°/37°dry
  7. Sat
    30Mod.51°/37°dry

Protect tonight

Worth repellent if you'll be outside at dusk or dawn.

  1. A botanical or 10% picaridin lotion covers a patio evening; reapply after about two hours.
  2. A fan on the patio does real work: mosquitoes are weak fliers and avoid moving air.
Which repellent, and how much: DEET vs picaridinBest natural repellents

Why Atlanta's mosquitoes do what they do

Atlanta is a city in a forest, a thousand feet up, with humid summers and enough tree canopy that shade and leaf-litter containers keep Asian tiger mosquitoes biting all afternoon. Fulton County's Board of Health traps across the city and announces positive West Nile traps by neighborhood through the summer.

  • Tree canopy: shade, leaf-filled gutters and tree holes make Aedes albopictus the daytime pest of every Atlanta yard.
  • Summer humidity: afternoon storms from June through August keep containers and creek margins wet.
  • Catch basins: the urban Culex that carry West Nile breed in storm drains; the county larvicides them.
  • Real winter: frosts from November end the season and the index drops to zero.

A typical year in Fulton County

The long-run mosquito index by month from our season map (NOAA climate normals plus effort-corrected sightings). Today's Bite Index is the live version of this; the month you're in is marked.

  1. JJanuary: 0
  2. FFebruary: 0
  3. MMarch: 25
  4. AApril: 46
  5. MMay: 67
  6. JJune: 85
  7. JJuly: 95
  8. AAugust: 100
  9. SSeptember: 88
  10. OOctober: 65
  11. NNovember: 36
  12. DDecember: 0

Local surveillance and West Nile virus

The Bite Index measures nuisance biting, not disease. Fulton County's health department traps and tests mosquitoes through the season and publishes positive West Nile pools by ZIP code. When your ZIP has an active advisory, follow it regardless of today's number.

How the Bite Index is scored

The index is a model of conditions, not a mosquito count. Four weather factors are combined on a 0–100 scale, then scaled by the season. Every factor and today's value for it is listed here so you can check the number yourself. It uses the same temperature curve and rain logic as our county-level mosquito season map, which has been validated against effort-corrected sighting data across 41 states.

BBreeding pressure

Rain 7–14 days ago (0.1 in. between Oct 16 and Oct 29). Eggs need water to hatch, and at summer temperatures the egg-to-biting-adult cycle takes about a week, so today's mosquitoes are last week's rain. Cool weather stretches the window; hot dry days shrink it as shallow water evaporates.

Weight 40%
Today 0%

DDevelopment

The trailing two-week average temperature, on the same curve as our national season map: nothing below 50°F, full speed at 78–88°F, a small penalty in extreme heat.

Weight 25%
Today 44%

ATonight's activity

Whether the population that exists will actually fly and bite this evening: dusk temperature (65–85°F is ideal), wind (they stop flying around 10 mph), humidity, and rain around sunset.

Weight 25%
Today 43%

GGround truth

A nudge from local trap counts and reports when we have them. For Atlanta this is neutral today; the health department's surveillance is linked above and will feed this factor as we wire it in.

Weight 10%
Today neutral

SSeason gate

A multiplier from the calendar: fully open in the city's season months, half-open in the shoulder months, nearly closed in deep winter unless the week is warm. Below a 50°F weekly average the index is simply 0.

Weight ×
Today 60%

index = 100 × S × (0.40 × (0.2 + 0.8·B) + 0.25 × D + 0.25 × A + 0.10 × (0.5 + 0.5·G))

Bands: Low 0–20 · Moderate 21–40 · High 41–60 · Very High 61–80 · Severe 81–100. Weather is from Open-Meteo (observations and the 7-day forecast), refreshed hourly. The lag and temperature thresholds follow published work on Culex and Aedes development (Rueda et al. 1990; Cornell NRCC degree-day emergence; JAMCA 2024 on rainfall two to four weeks before trap peaks).

Questions people ask about mosquitoes in Atlanta

When is mosquito season in Atlanta?
May through October, peaking in July and August. First frost, usually in November, ends it; a warm spell in April can start it early.
Why do Atlanta mosquitoes bite during the day?
The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, is a daytime biter that breeds in small containers and tree holes in shade. It is the dominant nuisance species in Atlanta yards, and it is why cleaning gutters and dumping saucers matters more here than spraying.
Is West Nile virus a risk in Atlanta?
Yes. Fulton County finds West Nile-positive traps most summers and announces them by neighborhood. Follow those announcements over the Bite Index.
Where does this forecast's data come from?
Open-Meteo weather for downtown Atlanta, scored by our documented model and compared with Fulton County's season-map climatology. A model of conditions, not a trap count.

Also covers Decatur, Sandy Springs, Marietta, East Point, Roswell, Brookhaven, Piedmont Park, the Chattahoochee River: the forecast point is central Atlanta, and conditions within about 30 miles track it closely. Weather fetched Nov 8, 1:38 PM local time.

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