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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Get your slapping reflexes ready: Skeeters are coming
THE reprieve may be over.
After last year's relatively bug-free summer, there's a chance Winnipeg could see an "intolerable" number of mosquitoes this year.
On Thursday, city entomologist Taz Stuart said recent rainfall has created the potential for a large population of adult nuisance mosquitoes. Between 85 and 130 millimetres of rain fell in the last week, Stuart said, and East and West St. Paul, Headingley, and North and East Kildonan received the heaviest amount of precipitation of all areas in the city.
The pesky biters are expected to emerge over the next seven to 14 days, and insect-control crews are working to larvicide as much standing water as quickly as possible before then. About 150 insect-control staff and four helicopters will work to check and treat 30,000 hectares of possible mosquito breeding sites within Winnipeg and the surrounding 10 kilometres.
Stuart is urging Winnipeggers to drain any standing water on their properties, as half of all sites where mosquito larvae develop are on private property the city can't treat. How many mosquitoes are buzzing within two weeks depends on rain, temperature, and the amount of standing water, he said.
If Winnipeg does not see significant rainfall, and Winnipeggers dump standing water, and temperatures remain cool overnight, Stuart said there will be fewer mosquitoes and the situation will be tolerable for residents.
If not, Stuart said there could be a "significant" amount of mosquitoes.
"Citizens will consider it intolerable, and they'll say, 'why aren't you considering fogging?' " he said.
As of Wednesday, city mosquito traps had an average of one mosquito. Stuart said conditions will be monitored on a daily basis.
Meanwhile, crews will continue spraying for cankerworms and gypsy moths. Due to recent weather, crews have not completed spraying a few parts of the city for cankerworms, including Kildonan Park and Elmwood Cemetery. Most areas of Winnipeg have suffered minimal damage and crews will focus on cemeteries and parks where cankerworms are starting to cause significant levels of defoliation.
Tree spraying will continue seven nights per week and the city will issue a daily update of which areas will be sprayed the following day.
Today, crews will also continue treating parts of St. Vital for gypsy moths. The first aerial application of Btk, a bacterium found naturally in soils, occurred on Wednesday. The city will advise the public of additional treatments.
Residents can check for updates at winnipeg.ca/PublicWorks/bugline/ or can contact 311 for more information.
Large populations of gypsy moths can completely strip leaves from trees, which over time can eventually kill the tree of make it susceptible to other pests.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 1, 2012 0
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