WINNIPEG — The fight to get rid of a pesky bug is ramping up as the city laid out mosquito traps across Winnipeg Monday afternoon.
Winnipeg’s larvicide program will monitor 31,500 acres of standing water this spring.
“This spring, the ground is saturated which has resulted in a lot of standing water and the need for a substantial spring larviciding program for the control of the spring mosquito species,” Ken Nawolsky, superintendent of insect control said.
“The good news is surveillance of standing water sites indicates low to moderate numbers of spring mosquito larvae species.”
RELATED: Going natural: how to ward off pesky mosquitoes without chemicals
The city is also posting signs in public areas (such as parks and gold courses) alerting the public that helicopters will be applying larvicides. Signage will be put up 24 hours in advance of treatment.
Homeowners are reminded to dump any standing water on their properties to help eliminate breeding areas.
Delta Guard not approved yet
Once fogging begins (which is typically in June), the city is replacing the use of malathion with a new spray called DeltaGard. It’s considered more environmentally friendly than malathion, which is the chemical insecticide the city has been using to fog mosquitoes for years.
In 2015, the World Health Organization said that malathion is “probably carcinogenic” to human beings. The chemical stopped being manufactured in 2014.
RELATED: Winnipeg will not be using malathion to fog mosquitoes until further notice
DeltaGard still needs to be registered for use in Canada, which the city said should happen by June at the latest.
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