Brandon buzzes with mosquitoes but Winnipeg in the clear so far

It bites to be in Brandon these days.

Mosquito numbers in the southwestern Manitoba city have soared since the end of June, when the average trap count was 32. That count is now sitting at 577, the city says, according to July 7 sampling data.

However, one trap in Brandon's municipal cemetery hadclose to 1,150 of the bloodsuckers.

The city characterizes the current average as being in the "medium" range, and won't consider spraying until the average daily trap count exceeds1,000.

Meanwhile,mosquito trap counts in Winnipegare hardly even registering. The city-wide average is just three, according toCity of Winnipeg data collected July 10.

The highest count is in the city's southwest corner at four.

The vastly higher counts in Brandon may be due, in part, to the type of traps that city uses.

"The City of Winnipeg uses New Jersey Light traps and we use CO2 canister traps. Brandon's traps are able to collect 10 times more mosquitos than the traps used in Winnipeg, and therefore, there is a 10 [times] multiplier difference between the two types of traps," saidAllison Collins, a spokesperson for the City of Brandon, in an email to CBC.

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