'The numbers were huge': Saskatoon saw massive mosquito spike in June
CTV
Summer in Saskatchewan can feel short, and with it comes the biting bugs that can make it tricky tto enjoy the outdoors.
Summer in Saskatchewan can feel short, and with it comes the biting bugs that can make it tricky tto enjoy the outdoors.
According to the City of Saskatoon’s weekly mosquito count, a large spike in mid-June caused the average number of mosquitos caught in the seven neighbourhoods to be well above the 10-year average.
For the week ending June 10, the count was 24 when the 10-year average was around two.
“The numbers were huge that second week of June and that’s because of that moisture,” said Taz Stuart, an entomologist and mosquito expert. “Lots of rainfall, rainfall equals mosquitoes. And it was warm. That’s the most important part, when it’s warm they develop faster, and people notice them.”
On the upside, last week, the city's count plunged well below the 10-year average. A University of Saskatchewan entomologist says that’s due to the drier conditions over the last few weeks.
“That offset is that if it dries up and you start getting dry, hot weather like we’ve had more recently, mosquitos don’t want that,” associate professor Sean Prager said. “But other insects, especially grasshoppers, actually prefer it when it’s dry out.”
But even though they aren’t showing up in the traps in high numbers, Stuart says biting bugs are lurking in the long grass.
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