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
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.