EDMONTON – While it may not feel like spring in Edmonton just yet, the new season has sprung and that means mosquitoes have started their annual takeover.
“The very first batch of mosquitoes that comes out actually spent the winter as adults. They were hibernating under the snow,” explained Mike Jenkins, a biological sciences technician with the City of Edmonton. “Those ones are actually out already.”
As a result, the City of Edmonton has launched its annual mosquito control program, in hopes of getting an early jump on the ankle biters.
“Edmonton is privileged to be one of only a few municipalities in Canada that funds a mosquito control program,” said James Wilke, director of Animal Care and Pest Management with the City of Edmonton.
“The citizens responded back through a survey and indicated that it was one of the top priorities for funding within a city. So that is why we make a big deal about it and we want to make sure we are delivering the best program that we can.”
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City crews do most of their work by helicopter, targeting small standing bodies of water, which tend to pop up in roadside ditches and open fields. This way, crews can attack the blood suckers at the larval stage, before they hatch.
“Our most successful method for reducing pest populations is to attack the immature stages of the pest’s life cycle when they are most vulnerable,” Jenkins explained. “Most of our programs basically end once the mosquitoes are beginning to emerge.”
According to Jenkins, a large mosquito habitat has already begun to form in Edmonton; this is due to the large amount of snow the city received over the winter, followed by a quick melt over the past few weeks.
“There is quite a bit of hatching happening out there. But now that it’s cooled down, it’s actually slowed down that development and it gives us a much bigger window of opportunity to get out there and control them.”
Edmonton had a below-average mosquito population last summer. Jenkins says as long as it stays relatively cool with no wind, crews will be able to get a leg up on the mosquito population this year.
The City of Edmonton sets aside approximately $1.3 million for its mosquito control program each year.
For more information on pest management and tips on how you can protect yourself from mosquitoes, visit the City of Edmonton’s website.
With files from Shane Jones, Global News.
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