After a mild start to the season, mosquito numbers have spiked in Saskatoon.
The city’s entomologist Jeff Boone spoke with the Brent Loucks Show on Thursday. He said his crews have noticed more mosquitos in their traps over the last few weeks.
Boone said while the numbers are up, there’s less concern about West Nile virus than in previous years.
“Our nuisance mosquitos are quite a bit higher than average,” he said. “A bit of good news on the West Nile front, those mosquito numbers are fairly low, but our nuisance mosquitoes are fairly high at the moment.”
Boone said mosquito populations were low through late spring and early summer. He said heavier rains created conditions for more of the bugs to breed in the last few weeks.
“We weren’t lacking in precipitation, but just nicely spaced-out rains. But then we got into a bit of a tough spot in early July when we began to see successive rains,” he said.
Boone said people should wear insect repellant to minimize bites. He noted mosquitoes are most active at dawn and dusk, when predators are less likely to be out.