Calgarians noticing increased mosquito population after rainy July

The weather has been nice lately, but it's brought pests with it, as many Calgarians have noticed more mosquitoes.

Calgarians are noticing the increased mosquito population after the record-setting rain the city experienced in July.

Nicole Hendricks showed off several mosquito bites she got just from walking around.

“It’s a real concern. I mean, it’s annoying,” said Hendricks.

According to the City of Calgary, the amount of mosquitoes being hatched for August is up significantly from last year.

“We’re seeing pretty high numbers of mosquitoes, especially for August,” said integrated pest management technician Alexandra Coker. “Right now, we’re seeing some of the highest numbers (ever). Typically, mosquitoes in Calgary peak more like mid-July.”

The spike in the pest coincides with the record-making rain the city experienced.

The mosquitoes brothering Calgarians are a flood-water species, laying their eggs in spots that fill up with water.

“Those eggs can be dormant for three to five years,” Coker said.

“We get a lot of areas that suddenly have water in them, and then once the weather starts to heat up, those eggs are hatching, those larvae are developing, then we get all the adult mosquitoes that we’re seeing right now,” said Coker.

This year may feel like the worst in recent memory, but Coker points to 2022.

“We have three traps that we are running right now, if we kind of compare those locations to 2022, by the end of the season, we had collected like 100,000 mosquitoes,” said Coker.

“I think at this point in the year, we had collected maybe 40,000-50,000.”

Monitoring mosquito population

The University of Calgary is currently running a program with the city to monitor the mosquito population and “also conduct research to understand what species are most common and to assess, what kind of risk they may play to humans and other animals.”

“In our traps, we’ve gotten four to 40 times more mosquitoes this year, depending on the trap,” said University of Calgary veterinary medicine assistant professor John Soghigian.

He recommends people use bug repellent to reduce the likelihood of getting West Nile virus.

“In Alberta, we’re primarily only concerned with one mosquito-borne disease, and that’s West Nile virus,” said Soghigian.

Coker recommends people wear long-sleeve shirts and pants to avoid being bitten, while also going outside when mosquitoes are less active.

“Mosquitoes tend to be more active when it’s cooler. So earlier in the morning and later at night. So if it’s possible to kind of adjust your activity period to those times,” she said.

She also wants people to be aware with the containers by collecting water near their homes.

“If you have things like fruit baths, rain barrels, flower pots -- anything that’s collecting your water in your yard -- we recommend that you either drain that regularly, like, you know, every three to five days,” she said.

“Or if it’s water that you plan to be using, like in a rain barrel or something like that, then just cover it with a mesh screen so that mosquitoes can’t get in there and lay their eggs,” she said.

The City of Calgary is teaming up with the University of Calgary on a citizen science project examining mosquito ecology and the potential health implications of the invasive northern house mosquito, also known as culex pipiens.

The process is simple: just head to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary or Ralph Klein Park to grab a mosquito kit -- which comes with a collection tube and label -- and use it to collect mosquitoes encountered in the park during your visit, whether alive or dead and squished.