As rain continues to fall over Calgary, a large number of mosquitoes are also flying in with the wet weather.
An integrated pest management technician with Calgary Parks said up until last week, the city was seeing below-average numbers of these common summertime pests, however, over the last seven days, numbers have increased dramatically.
“We’ve had a couple of really significant rain events, and then it’s been warm. That’s the perfect conditions for mosquitoes,” Sarah Verdiel said in an interview with Global News Radio 770 CHQR.
“The mosquitoes we see now, we call them floodwater mosquitoes, they live in temporary and semi-permanent water and there’s lots of that around. It’s a perfect time for there to be lots of mosquitoes.”
Verdiel added that usually, mosquitoes are predominantly seen on the outskirts of the city, but with the wet forecast, the insects are flying farther into Calgary this year.
“When we typically see mosquitoes in Calgary, we’re seeing them more along the eastern edge of the city, but this year we’re seeing them more throughout,” she said. “If you’re fortunate enough to live in one of those areas where you don’t see them a lot usually, then this year they’ll be feeling really bad.”
Every summer, the city attempts to lower mosquito counts by applying larvacide to the Calgary’s parameters, but Verdiel noted that only targets larvae and cannot be used inside city limits.
“We run an aerial program, so we use a helicopter to apply a larvicide around the city, but we can’t do that in the city because we can’t fly a helicopter in between people’s houses,” she said.
“We can do it manually and apply it by hand with a backpack, so we can do that a little bit, but overall, it’s just one of those years where the mosquitoes are going to be bad no matter what we do.”
While the weather can’t be controlled, Verdiel noted there are steps residents can take to minimize their exposure to the insects.
“The benefit of having a green city this year is that we have to put up with the mosquitoes to counteract that,” she said.
“Mosquitoes are most active at dawn and dusk, so if you’re outside during those times maybe wear long sleeves and long pants and apply an insecticide that contains Deet,” she added.
“If you have any long grass or shrubs on your property, mosquitoes like to hide there during the heat of the day, so if you can clean that stuff up, that also might help.”