'The numbers were huge': Saskatoon saw massive mosquito spike in June

Summer in Saskatchewan can feel short, and with it comes the biting bugs that can make it tricky to enjoy the outdoors.

According to the City of Saskatoon’s weekly mosquito count, a large spike in mid-June caused the average number of mosquitos caught in the seven neighbourhoods to be well above the 10-year average.

For the week ending June 10, the count was 24 when the 10-year average was around two.

“The numbers were huge that second week of June and that’s because of that moisture,” said Taz Stuart, an entomologist and mosquito expert. “Lots of rainfall, rainfall equals mosquitoes. And it was warm. That’s the most important part, when it’s warm they develop faster, and people notice them.”

On the upside, last week, the city's count plunged well below the 10-year average. A University of Saskatchewan entomologist says that’s due to the drier conditions over the last few weeks.

• Get the CTV News app for Saskatoon area breaking news alerts and top stories 

“That offset is that if it dries up and you start getting dry, hot weather like we’ve had more recently, mosquitos don’t want that,” associate professor Sean Prager said. “But other insects, especially grasshoppers, actually prefer it when it’s dry out.”

But even though they aren’t showing up in the traps in high numbers, Stuart says biting bugs are lurking in the long grass.

“Don’t make yourself the attractant,” Stuart told CTV News. “If you’re going to run around on the soccer field and then go into the bush, a female mosquito will be looking for you. So make sure again you’re wearing repellants, light-coloured clothing, and protect yourself.”

And as residents head into the bush or out to the lake for a weekend, Stuart says you’re entering the bugs’ territory.

“We say that is their world,” said Stuart. “They want to be on those hedges and that’s including ticks. Ticks have been on the increase this year.”

As the dry part of summer approaches, Prager says farmers are growing concerned about the early arrival of grasshoppers.

“That again is directly due to the weather,” he said. “So when you have things ahead of schedule, sometimes they eat things earlier. That doesn’t necessarily mean it doesn’t average out over the whole season, but there are relationships between crops and insects, and how well the crop can withstand the pressure that the insects make.”

While Prager says there’s no risk to most of the bug bites you might get in Saskatchewan, it always helps to wear long sleeves, bring a DEET-based repellant, and avoid dawn or dusk, when bugs are most active.

“The gold standard is DEET,” he said. “DEET is always the best repellant against mosquitoes, and it works for ticks as well.”