Mother Nature halts mosquitoes with own pest control

Watch above: a pro-active approach is being taken to deal with mosquitoes in Saskatoon

SASKATOON – With summer so close, people can finally head outdoors to begin enjoying the season. But how long will it last before those pesky mosquitoes start hatching in Saskatoon?

Mother Nature has been conducting her own pest control against the ankle biters with a cool spring.

“The cool definitely slows things down but the wet on the other hand speeds things up, so a lot of standing water isn’t good for the mosquito population,” said Jeff Boone, the city’s pest management supervisor.

Last month was the second wettest April on record for the city.

City officials are taking a proactive approach when it comes to keeping the nuisance bug population down and started mosquito larva treatment a couple weeks ago.

“Staff are seeing larva in the field, mostly early stages, so we know we’re on top of the situation right now and killing those early stages, those are very susceptible to the biological product that we use to kill them,” said Boone.

It’s too early to tell what kind of year Saskatoon is going to have with the blood suckers but as the weather warms up, mosquito development quickens.

“It’s always hard to make predictions because mosquito populations are so linked to spring rains and when we know more about the spring rains as we go through the months of May and June that really determines what our mosquito numbers are going to be,” said Boone.

Crews are treating areas within Saskatoon before working their way out to Corman Park.

There are actions people can take to help keep mosquito numbers down.

“By removing standing water in their yards, anywhere that collects standing water, whether it be bird baths or that sort of thing, all that can be mosquito habitat,” said Boone.

Crews will monitor the situation and continue to spray throughout the spring and summer, before starting the cycle all over again in August to try to keep next year’s population down.

While West Nile virus risks peak around the August long weekend, nuisance mosquitoes will be the first ones we see or feel.