The warm spring weather is compelling many people to head outdoors after the long winter, but a yearly annoyance is also back.
“What we’re seeing right now is a result of what we call the spring hatch,” said Peter Daly with City of Edmonton pest management lab.
The mosquitoes have returned and, according to Daly, “compared to the last three years, the numbers are slightly elevated.”
But Daly indicates people shouldn’t panic, even though the species flying around right now “are very aggressive biters” which aren’t easily deterred by bug spray.
“We’ve had more moisture going into this spring… it’s a little more comparable to, say, 2011,” Daly said.
A spray program was initiated earlier this spring with crews targeting standing bodies of water in rural areas outside Edmonton.
“Unfortunately, the spray program does not catch absolutely all of them,” Daly said. “We can’t be everywhere and we’re not blasting every single body of water.”
There is some good news for people frustrated with the blood-sucking pests the hot weather means: “they should burn out pretty quickly.”
The rest of the season will depend on how much moisture the region gets.
Peak mosquito season runs from late July to early August.
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