By Scott Roblin

Mosquito numbers flare up following late start to spring

May 14, 2018 | 4:56 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – It’s the unofficial start to the summer in Medicine Hat, with the familiar swatting of mosquitoes returning to the city.

For those trying to enjoy the beautiful weather like Jasmin Klassen, the return of the ‘bloodsuckers’ is a hassle to say the least.

“They just come out from anywhere,” said Klassen. “Like yesterday, I was gardening and I could not keep them off of me. I put bug spray on five times within the hour.

It’s a later start to the mosquito season in Medicine Hat, following a lengthy and cold winter that killed many of the first larvae.

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However, Superintendent of Parks Dave Genio said they’re expecting numbers either on par or worse than last year.

“We’re expecting to see larvae numbers with the recent rainfall to be similar or higher compared to last spring, which we were having this conversation in April last year, not in May,” said Genio. “But, this year we’re actually finding our larvae counts to be about the same.”

With the return of mosquitoes to the region, so return the fears of West Nile Virus and other pathogens carried by mosquitoes.

Medicine Hat has been no stranger to West Nile Virus, with two of Alberta’s seven reported cases in 2017 coming from the local area.

Though AHS Medical Officer of Health for the South Zone Dr. Lizette Elumir said it needs to get warmer before cases of West Nile Virus pop up again.

“Typically, West Nile comes out after a certain number of hot days, that’s when mosquitoes become infected with it,” said Elumir. “So, right now it hasn’t happened yet, so we are still watching.”

City staff will be using an environmentally-friendly bacterial larvicide on problematic areas, however they only had to apply the control measure four or five times last year.

Genio said they’re watching 60 sites across the city for mosquito and larvae activity, and will continue to monitor these sites throughout the summer.

“As soon as we have any significant rainfall, we do go out and check within the next few days to see where possible larvae numbers are, just to get a better idea,” he said. “But, [we] won’t really know until we see what the summer is going to bring us.”

To avoid bites, people should drain standing water on their property, apply insect repellent, wear long sleeves, and avoid going outdoors at dusk and dawn.

For local cyclist Randy Schimpf he’s been using his own creative solution, but will likely apply the bug spray going forward.

“Keep moving, yeah just keep moving,” said Schimpf. “I haven’t put any mosquito repellent on yet, but I think that’s where I’m going.”