Mosquitoes about to mount a comeback in Winnipeg

Hey, it was nice while it lasted.

After two consecutive Winnipeg summers without noticeable numbers of adult mosquitoes, the blood-sucking parasites are about to make a comeback.

The City of Winnipeg is expecting mosquitoes to emerge in significant numbers within three daysthanks to the combination of recent heavy rains and warm weather.

"We're hopeful it won't be too bad. Yes, there will be some mosquitoes, but we're hopeful it won't warrant an adult mosquito control program. Fingers crossed," said Ken Nawolsky, the superintendent of Winnipeg's insect-control branch.

Up to 180 millimetres ofrain fell on the city last week, forcing the insect-control branch to mount a city-wide larviciding operation. Four helicopters and about 180 people working on the ground are applying larvicides to standing water on public property, Nawolsky said.

"We have been working non-stop, basically 16-to-18-hour days sincethe water stopped flowing on Thursday, even doing some night-timeshifts," he said.

As of Monday, the number of adult mosquitoes caught in city traps was six. Nawolsky said that within days the average trap count could rise to between 25 to 50 which is high enough to be annoying but not high enough to prompt the first round of fogging in Winnipeg since 2016.

• Mosquito-free summer injects $2.5M into city's bottom line

One wild card is how much standing water exists on private property, said Nawolsky, imploring Winnipeggers to dump any containers full of rain.

A second factor is more rain fell on Sunday and Monday, prompting more eggs to hatch.

"We've got multiple generations going at the same time," Nawolsky said.

The current round of larviciding will cost the city $1 million, he said. The insect-control branch has an annual budget of $10.4 million.