The sting of summer: Regina sees mosquito population grow

REGINA -

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.