The city may have received a dusting of snow last night, but mosquito season is closer than you might think, and Edmonton is gearing up for a fight. The city says mosquitoes can be found, even in cool temperatures, however the weather is giving crews a head start on the bugs.
“Now that it's cooled down its really slowed down that development” Biologist Mike Jenkins says, “It gives us a much bigger window of opportunity to get out there and control them.”
According to experts, the most effective way to fight the bugs is to know what kinds of bugs you're up against. Edmonton is primarily home to nuisance mosquitoes, as opposed to disease carrying adult mosquitoes, so the main focus for the city's mosquito control program is attacking when the insect is in a larva stage, and most vulnerable.
The program will target ditches and standing puddles, which will be sprayed by ground crews. Helicopters are also used to treat large areas of standing water with dry, granular larvicide formulations.
High water levels can cause problems for crews, because moving water can't be treated. Rainy or windy conditions can also have an adverse effect.
The city started their mosquito campaign last week by monitoring standing water. The next step will include treating standing water left by the snow melt. The program will continue into the summer months, especially if there can be heavy rainfall in the area. In rare cases, the city will also treat areas with high adult mosquito populations, usually during outdoor festivals. But much like snow removal from city streets, they don’t know what kind of money will be needed to run the program until they see what the weather brings.
“You really don't know much you're going to need until you're through the season.” Jenkins says.
Overall, the program is considered to be effective. “We’ve definitely seen a big different in areas where we treat and areas outside the program where we don't treat.”
You can protect yourself from mosquitoes by wearing bug repellent, long pants, and long sleeved shirts. The city also recommends that homeowners should remove standing water from their properties.
With files from Nicole Weisberg
