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By Keaton Brown

Rainy summer season leads to increase in mosquito population

Jul 24, 2020 | 12:28 PM

Exceptionally wet weather followed by hot and humid temperatures has created a perfect storm for mosquitos to proliferate in the Battlefords.

Sean Prager, a plant sciences and biology assistant professor at the University of Saskatchewan, said the number of mosquitoes this year is high for the province, but normal for the type of summer season we have had this year.

“This is normal for a rainy season, it is not necessarily normal for the average in Saskatchewan,” he said.

Prager said while there are more mosquitoes this year, which will result in more mosquito bites, there is not a major health concern regarding the bugs transmitting diseases.

“We are fortunate in that in this province, and really in most of Western Canada, we do not have very many, if any, mosquitoes that transmit pathogens. We don’t have to worry about getting sick from getting bit by mosquitoes,” he said.

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Prager also said there was no risk of the mosquitoes being able to transmit COVID-19 from one person to another.

“They have in fact done a study and they cannot transmit COVID via mosquitoes,” he said.

In a media release, the city said it will be engage in a larvicide program using the commercial product Vectobac to control mosquito populations in the city.

Vectobac uses the biological control agent Bacillus thuringiensis, commonly referred to as Bti, a bacterium found naturally in soils. The product is applied to standing water within the city every Wednesday during the spring and summer.

During the spore-forming stage of its life cycle, the Bti bacterium produces a protein crystal which is toxic only to mosquito and black fly larvae. These microscopic crystals are ingested by insect larvae when they are feeding. The crystals are dissolved and converted into toxic protein molecules that destroy the walls of the insect’s stomach. The insect usually stops feeding within hours and dies within days.

The increased rains and higher river water levels have left more standing water in the river valley and surrounding the city, prime breeding areas for mosquitoes.

The City of North Battleford does not engage in spraying (fogging) as a means to control mosquitoes as it is less effective than a larvicide program. Spraying is also an indiscriminate form of insect control, meaning it destroys pollinators like bees and butterflies as well as mosquito predators like dragonflies, the city said.

Dustin MacDonald, communications administrator for the city, said residents can also help control the mosquito population.

“We are reminding residents that they can do their part to help control the mosquito population by removing their breeding sites. Removing standing water from their yards, plugged eavestroughs, exposed rain barrels and bird baths and keeping their grass cut short,” he said.

The city also said individuals can reduce their attractiveness to mosquitoes by wearing light-coloured, long-sleeved shirts and pants, use mosquito nets over playpens and strollers, and applying insect repellent with DEET.

—

Keaton.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow