Bugged by mosquitoes? Blame it on the rain, beer and babies
CBC
Mosquitoes in Waterloo region are creating a buzz for all the wrong reasons.
Judging by a trail of red, itchy evidence — some people may assume there are more of them this year.
But one expert said it could be a trick of the weather.
Brad Fedy, an ecologist and associate professor at the University of Waterloo's school of environment, resources and sustainability, said getting a lot of rain after a spell of dry weather can suddenly create favourable conditions for mosquitoes who could not breed when it was very dry outside.
"From our perspective, it'll result in a more contracted time period over which animals are emerging," he said.
"It'll feel like to us that there's all of a sudden a lot more. Over that same amount of time we might have ended up with the same number. It's just they're coming out, they're merging in a more contracted period."
On top of that, Fedy said natural odours from your skin, perfumes, having Type O blood, being pregnant and drinking alcohol can all make you smell more attractive for all the hungry new mosquitoes.
"It's important to consider human psychology and perceptions. Our memories are fallible," Fedy said.
"We always experience current hardships more acutely than past hardships. And so when you're walking your dog in the morning, getting bitten ... by mosquitoes, you're going to feel that more and comment on it."
He said it could also be that we're all just bonding over our shared dislike for mosquitoes.
"We're social creatures. We like to get along with each other. And so when my friend tells me that the mosquitoes on his property are worse than he can ever remember them, I'm not going to disagree with him. I say: 'Yeah, of course they are, sure.'"
Fedy said it is hard to pinpoint exactly how many more mosquitoes we're seeing this year because of limited research in the area.
"When we actually have to do research monitoring mosquito populations, it may seem like an easy thing because they're all around you," he said.
"But it takes hours to not only design the study, but then to execute it. And if you want to do adult monitoring then you've got to put adult traps in. These traps need to main be maintained and then which species are you interested in? Because there's many, many species of mosquitoes. So then you're going to identify all of those species. And all of this takes time. All of this takes money."
A suspended Moncton structural engineer faces more lawsuits alleging design flaws in buildings that require repair.
Sajjade Tugano has come a long way since he first set foot in Chibougamau, six hours north of Quebec City, in the depths of winter in November 2021.
A national mentor-based hockey organization that helps marginalized youth through the sport is paying tribute to one of its members and youngest coaches.
After months of asking the City of Saskatoon to do more to solve its homelessness crisis, advocate David Fineday took to the stand at city council Tuesday.
A community organization wants to breathe new life into a historic building in Regina.
Some Prince County residents are walking away with more answers after attending Tuesday night's public information session in Albany, P.E.I., on the Wejipek Wind Project.
After just a few months of using vape detectors in a couple of bathrooms, a B.C. high school principal says it's reduced vape use in those areas to basically zero.
Burlington MP Karina Gould gets boost from local young people after entering Liberal leadership race
A day after entering the Liberal leadership race, Burlington, Ont., MP and government House leader Karina Gould was cheered at a campaign launch party by local residents — including young people expressing hope the 37-year-old politician will represent their voices.
Anold Mulaisho was born intersex and wonders where they fit in, in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order for the United States to recognize only two sexes, male and female.
WARNING: This story contains references to suicide.
Subway service is down on Line 1 between Sheppard West and Lawrence West due to a broken power rail, the TTC said Wednesday morning.
A long-term care home in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood has cleared one more hurdle to add desperately needed beds to its property, a move that's been praised by housing advocates but opposed by locals concerned about the impact on the neighbourhood.
A Charlottetown resident is calling on the P.E.I. government to do more to protect homeowners after reading about a recent oil spill very similar to one on his Montague property 20 years ago, which he says ruined him financially.
WARNING: This story includes details of abuse.
Two years after Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly declared she was taking the unprecedented step of moving to confiscate millions of dollars from a sanctioned Russian oligarch with assets in Canada, the government has not actually begun the court process to forfeit the money, let alone to hand it over to Ukrainian reconstruction — and it may never happen.
Alberta business and oilpatch leaders are returning home from Washington this week after the U.S. presidential inauguration festivities — and gritting their teeth after a roller-coaster of emotions.
Youth workers in Toronto's Jane and Finch area are flipping the script on negative stereotypes about their communities with a new fundraising campaign that offers anti-bias training in exchange for donations to bolster their programming.
In a sudden move that came late Tuesday evening, city officials rolled out cots and temporarily opened a warm building in east London as frigid temperatures continued.