Itchy summer ahead? Edmonton explores mosquito control options
Posted April 6, 2022 4:10 pm.
Last Updated April 9, 2022 9:23 am.
It might be an itchy summer for Edmontonians as city council continues its discussion on mosquito control this year.
Monday council voted to cancel the aerial mosquito control program this year, in favour of pest control education and more natural alternatives.
Coun. Sarah Hamilton was among the four members who voted against that idea.
“Edmontonians overwhelmingly do not enjoy the presence of mosquitoes in their summer,” said Hamilton.
“If you look at the map of where the aerial mosquito control happens, it happens often on the outskirts of the city. But we have a lot of Edmontonians who live on the outskirts of the city, and we know mosquitoes can travel quite a distance, so it generally contributes to the overall quality of life in the city.”
Some proposed pest solutions include increasing the number of mosquito predators in the city by installing more bat boxes, bird boxes, or sending dragonflies into mosquito habitats.
WATCH: City talks mosquitoes (Apr. 29, 2021).
An expert says it’s a good idea, but that’s only a long-term solution – adding it would take years to start seeing a difference.
“We have to remember that for the past few decades, we have been suppressing mosquitoes,” said Dustin Bajer, an advocate for nature-based solutions. “If we think of them at the bottom of the food chain or food pyramid, when you suppress the mosquitos, you also suppress the things that would consume them naturally.”
Bajer says he avoids hosting mosquitoes in his own yard through an irrigation system that avoids standing water. But Coun. Hamilton says the city’s mosquito problem won’t be mitigated by personal changes.
“When it came to the aerial control program, they’re talking about fields with pooling water, from the melt or the rain – pooling water that hosts tens of thousands of mosquito larvae,” she said. “And I don’t think Edmontonians would be receptive to the idea that their rain bucket that they left in the yard is somehow a contributing factor when we’re talking about populations on a much larger scale.”
In a city council meeting Wednesday, Coun. Aaron Paquette said the city needs to make it clear to the public they’re looking for an alternative to aerial mosquito spraying, not ending mosquito management entirely. No decisions have been finalized.
While the city explores is mosquito control solution for the summer, both Hamilton and Bajer say they will be seeking out repellant to ward off the itchy bites this summer.
