As warmer summer temperatures are finally expected to settle in after a cool spring in Ottawa, outdoor patios and swimming pools won’t be the only things coming to life.
The warm weather is also great news for mosquitoes and other biting insects, many of which are surely chomping at the bit to become the next unwelcome guests in your backyards.
Marc Avramov , a PhD candidate in Carleton University’s biology department, says that This year’s mosquito season hasn’t arrived as early due to cooler spring temperatures, but that doesn’t mean the bugs won’t still come out in full force this summer.
“In Canada, we’re pretty doomed no matter what,” Avramov said. “We’re always going to have a pretty solid amount of mosquitoes.”
Environment Canada is forecasting that temperatures in Ottawa will hover around the high-20s C during the day and drop to around 15 C at night, ushering in perfect conditions for mosquitoes to buzz to life.
Mosquitoes thrive in standing water, and the early-season bugs buzzing around emerge from the water pools produced by melting snow, added Robert Anderson, a research scientist at the Canadian Museum of Nature.
“There are mosquito eggs that are laid around the edges of these ponds, and they’ll start to hatch,” Anderson said. “And then you’ll get the larvae of those mosquitoes feeding in the ponds, and then they will come out, and that’s usually your first group of mosquitoes.”
How has a cool spring made a difference?
While we’ve had some warm days this spring, the challenge for mosquitoes is that temperatures continued to drop below 7 C at night, said Avramov, who is also affiliated with Public Health Canada and Agriculture and Agri Food Canada.
Given how mosquitoes rely on consistent temperatures to survive, the cooler weather has left them emerging from bug hibernation fairly lethargic, delaying the start of the breeding process.
“When it’s really warm during the day, but then it drops down quite a bit at night, which is what we’re seeing so far, what happens is the developmental process for the mosquitoes slows down and we don’t see this typical explosion of activity,” Avramov said.
However, Avramov says he’s started to notice more mosquitoes buzzing around his yard and “biting pretty heavily” in the past few days, indicating we might be getting into “the peak of the valley.”
How long will mosquito season last?
There are more than 80 species of mosquitoes in Canada, and around 40 of those can be found in the Ottawa Valley, Avramov says. Each species has its own biology and ecology, developing its own preference for different times of the year.
Some of the adult insects will “diapause,” or hibernate, during the winter, and those are the bugs that will start the mosquito season each spring, once it becomes warm enough. It often doesn’t take a lot of water for the life cycle to begin.
“The peak abundance numbers that we see are in mid to late-June, especially in the Ottawa Valley,” Avramov said.
With summer temperatures now mostly here to stay, he says we can expect a “hard start … on the typical kind of experience we have here as Ottawans.”
Different species of mosquitoes will begin buzzing to life as conditions change throughout the summer, before mosquito season starts to wrap up at the end of July, Avramov said. Night-time temperatures and the amount of rainfall also dictate how long the season lasts.
What about other biting bugs?
Mosquitoes aren’t the only bugs looking for blood.
While standing water is the best breeding ground for mosquitoes, Anderson says faster-flowing water gives rise to black flies as the larvae attach themselves to rocks and filter out algae in the stream.
“They’re sort of a more predictable thing later in the season, usually because those little streams are more consistent from year to year,” Anderson said.
Deer and horse flies tend to breed in the mud from wetlands, swamps or damp woodlands, meaning they also rely on many of the same wet conditions as mosquitoes to continue the life cycle.
Ticks, though not considered insects since they have eight legs instead of six, are another prevalent bug to keep your eyes on this summer. These critters thrive in wooded areas and tall grasses and can carry a variety of diseases, including Lyme disease.
Over the past decade, Anderson said, there’s been a noticeable rise in public awareness about ticks and the diseases they can carry.
“People are much, much more concerned and looking for ticks now, and that seems to result in more being found,” he said.
How can people protect themselves?
If you’re hoping to host outdoor barbecues and don’t plan to include biting insects on the guest list, the first thing you can do is regularly replace or remove stagnant pools of water on your property.
This can include bird baths, flowerpot saucers, swimming pool covers and unmaintained parts of your lawn, where water may be pooling.
“If you don’t maintain your lawn properly, there can be longer stretches of humid soil and … that’s good enough for mosquitoes to lay their eggs, and, if it’s wet enough, they’ll hatch,” Avramov said.
When going outside during the summer, experts suggest people remain vigilant to protect themselves from bites, especially considering the risks associated with mosquito-borne diseases .
While shady areas offer an escape from the sun on hot days, Anderson says mosquitoes have the same idea.
“They like the shady areas, and they generally won’t come out into the sunny areas as commonly as they might do if it was a little more shaded and a little cool,” he said.
Experts also recommend wearing long-sleeved clothing whenever possible. Insect repellent can also be effective as it can mask the scents your body gives off, which mosquitoes tend to home in on.
What are the City of Ottawa and Ottawa Public Health doing?
Ottawa Public Health said in a statement to the Ottawa Citizen that it was continuing its control plan this summer to detect if mosquitoes in the area were carrying West Nile virus or Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEEV).
“The program is targeted and evidence-based, with larvicides applied only when mosquito larvae surveillance confirms the presence of species known to transmit West Nile Virus, rather than for general nuisance mosquito control,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
The Kanata North Nuisance Mosquito Control Program will also continue this summer, injecting larvicide into the Carp River to attack mosquito larvae before they grow into adults. The City of Ottawa-led program charges Kanata North homeowners about $20 each annually to cover the $1.85-million price tag.
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