Mosquitoes have been an uncommon sight in Regina since the snow melted. That all ends this weekend according to City of Regina pest control, forestry and horticulture manager Russel Eirich.
“We’ve had close to 50 milimetres of rain in the past five days, and our crews are seeing a rapid amount of standing water right now. Over the past days our treatments have gone up significantly,” Eirich said.
“We should start to see them by the weekend, or maybe the early next week period.”
So far this year, mosquito traps have been averaging two bloodsuckers per check. The historical average for this time of year is 11 per trap.
READ MORE: Regina pest control crews preparing for mosquito season
Eirich encouraged residents to drain sources of standing water on their properties to help control the incoming swarm. He said a bucket of water in your yard could turn into a spawning ground for thousands of mosquitoes.
Some of the city’s tree-spraying pest control crews have been reassigned to mosquito management in an effort to treat more standing water sources. These crews were formally focused on other spring pests: tent caterpillars and cankerworms.
On the worm and caterpillar front, 1,500 of the planned 2,000 trees have been sprayed. Crews still need to get to Greens on Gardiner.
Eirich said populations of the pests are depressed, and they implemented a spot spray program as a result. Residents can call the city to report tent caterpillars or cankerworms, and a crew will come treat the tree.
READ MORE: Thousands of tent caterpillars emerge, numbers expected to be on the decline
The city has only received five calls so far, all from the area near the Northgate Mall.
Saskatoon appears to be the only urban centre with high tent caterpillar numbers this year, according to Eirich. He credits Regina’s lack of worms to the spray program being in place for a few years at this point and the weather.
“For everyone that you do kill you’re also preventing the eggs for next year, so it’s a combination,” he said.