With warmer temperatures settling in Ontario, pest control experts suggest the mosquito season could be more intense this year due to recent and forecast weather conditions.
“We’re already seeing a significant uptick in the amount of calls we’re getting,” Bernie Grafe, a manager with Orkin Canada, told CityNews.
“We’re predicting that mosquito season is going to go pretty much into the fall.”
Grafe said with ice and/or snow storms sweeping through parts of Ontario in the winter and early spring, mixed with thunderstorms in more recent weeks, have brought wet conditions on the ground. He said that if you factor in warmer daytime and nighttime temperatures too, it all makes for an ideal mosquito breeding environment in the coming weeks.
“I would say it’s either our number one or number two kind of service call that we do attend as soon as July hits,” Grafe said.
Steven Flisfeder, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said while precipitation can be highly localized with more intensive rainfall or snowfall amounts, the Toronto area as a whole saw drier-than-normal weather conditions over the first four months of 2025;
However, he confirmed areas in northwestern and northeastern Ontario along with spots around Georgian Bay and in ‘Cottage Country’ experienced higher-than-normal precipitation in the same period.
Flisfeder said it’s hard to provide a long-term precipitation forecast, but did have one note.
“Once we head towards the end of May, early June, there are some signals that we could see a bit of an increase in precipitation,” he said.
As for temperatures, Flisfeder confirmed Ontario had a warmer winter and early spring — particularly in northern Ontario — and said we can expect to see above-seasonal temperatures in the coming months.
When it comes to mosquitoes, Grafe said the concerns are twofold: a way for diseases like West Nile Virus to spread, and personal comfort.
“That itching, that scratching, that annoyance, you know, can cause a significant amount of stress on a person,” he said.
CityNews contacted Toronto Public Health to ask what’s being done locally to address concerns about mosquitoes, but a spokesperson wasn’t made available for an on-camera interview.
A spokesperson said in a statement that City staff are looking to place larvicide in catch basins and other areas with stagnant water starting in early June.
For anyone looking to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes, Toronto Public Health officials encouraged people to wear light-coloured and long-sleeved clothing, wear an insect repellent approved for use by Health Canada (click here to access the full list), take extra precautions at peak times (sunrise and sunset), and double check window and door screens to ensure there is a tight seam.
Grafe echoed those recommendations, adding it’s best to sit away from vegetation and out in the sun since mosquitoes are repelled by sunlight. He also recommended cleaning stagnant pools of water, such as bird baths, every few days and clearing up excess debris kept on properties since mosquitoes will find spaces underneath.
