Mosquito population plunges by up to 75% in Calgary, expert estimates

If you think you are seeing fewer mosquitoes this summer, it's not your imagination.

University of Calgary entomologistJohn Swannestimates the mosquito numbers have plunged to onlyabout 25 to50 per cent of what he would normally see, owing to a dry winter followed by a dry spring.

"Yes, we've had a lot of rain now, and we'realmost200 per cent the normal for July, but it's almost too late to start really developingthose summer mosquitoes," he said.

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"So we might start to catch up to more normal levels, but you won't, you know, see mosquito-geddon out there, I suspect, this summer."

Another factor is that the city has twice used a technique to control mosquito outbreaks.

Jim Watts,an integrated pest management technician,says the city recentlydropped an insecticide to killlarvae in pools of standing water left from last week's rain.

He says the strategy was used successfully in May and he expects similar results this time.

"With these temperatures we would have adults from these rains at least by the weekend," he said.

"But it looks like another very effective result from our aerial program."

Watts said the weekly trap count in mid-July would normally be a couple of thousand mosquitoes per trap. Last week, his team counted just111 mosquitoes in the traps.

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