The sting of summer: Regina sees mosquito population grow
Large bodies of standing water from the rainfall Regina received two weeks ago have led to an increase in mosquitoes.
“We trapped 98 mosquitoes per trap in the city,” said Russell Eirich, manager of open space services for the City of Regina. “Compare that to outside the city, which was 187 mosquitoes per trap.”
The city has 12 traps around the city and two traps outside the city. Erich said the number of mosquitoes Regina is seeing is above the historical average for this time of year.
“Normally this time of year we would see 21 mosquitoes per trap,” said Eirich.
To try and combat the growing mosquito numbers, the city is continuing to monitor and spray standing bodies of water using an environmentally friendly spray called VectoBac.
“It’s a bacterium that dissolves into the water and then the mosquitoes strain that out, feed on it,” said Eirich. “All that does is cause the mosquito larvae to stop feeding and then they die because they are just starving.”
While the city is focused on spraying, some people choose to use plants to help prevent mosquitoes.
Colleen McGillivray, owner of Cherry Lane Greenhouse & Gifts, uses a number of different herbs and plants to take the sting out of summer.
“Lemon eucalyptus, lots of the lemon scents,” said McGillivray. “We will do citronella, we do lemon grass and lemon plum, there’s a few things we put in a pot.”
McGillivray also uses lavender to help prevent mosquitoes. She said using a plant-based method rather than chemical helps her have a positive environmental impact.
“We are trying to be nicer to the environment,” said McGillivray. “I just find it’s the safest, it just doesn’t seem to hurt anything. Who doesn’t like lemon smelling plants, you can’t keep your hands off them”
To help prevent mosquitoes in neighbourhoods, the city is reminding residents to remove any standing water from their yards, as well as keeping grass short to minimize the chance for mosquitoes populations to grow.
With warm temperatures on the way, the city is expecting mosquito numbers to drop moving forward.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING Appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.