As summer winds down, city crews are preparing to begin pruning elm trees.
The provincial ban on elm tree pruning ends on Sept. 1. The threat of Dutch elm disease is lowest at this time of year.
The ban is in place between April 1 and Aug. 31, when the disease is most active. City officials say they are noticing a decline in trees lost to the disease.
“We lost five trees for the year, and that seems about where we are going to stay, so we are pleased with how that went,” Russell Eirich with the city said. “We normally average five trees a year. Last year, we saw 10, so we are literally half of what we saw last year when it comes to the amount of Dutch elm disease in the city of Regina.”
The city also gave its final mosquito update of the season, saying an average of 18 mosquitos were found in 12 traps throughout the city. That’s down from the historical average of 43 mosquitos per trap.
The city is crediting hot and dry weather and doesn’t expect the populations to get any worst this year.
