Regina summer pest set to make a comeback

Those in Regina haven’t had to deal with a lot of mosquitoes in 2017, but that could be about to change.

At the City of Regina’s weekly Buzz on Bugs, Russel Eirich, manager of forestry, pest control and horticulture, said that recent rainfall will lead to more of the pests.

“Since June 9, we’ve had roughly 42 millimetres of rain which means that the water is starting to come which means the mosquitoes will come.”

He said residents can expect to see an increase in mosquitoes by the middle of next week.

City crews are out trying to get control and kill the mosquito larvae before they mature.

While an increase in the tiny blood-suckers is on the way, Eirich said they’ve been almost non-existent to this point in the year.

In the city’s weekly count, they found eight mosquitoes per trap. The average going back to 1986 is 20 mosquitoes per trap. Last year the average was 58.

Tent caterpillars

Eirich said the city is finished spraying for tent caterpillars. The total amount of calls they received for tent caterpillars was 364.

In total, 13,975 trees were sprayed this year. Last year, just under 7,000 trees were sprayed.

“We were a little more prepared this year,” Eirich said. “The tent caterpillars caught us last year so we were a little bit more aggressive and watchful in trying to predict where we were.”

While he was happy with the efforts, he said they couldn’t kill them all.

“If you see a whole bunch of little orange moths flying around your backyards and trees, that’s them.”

Dutch elm disease

Trees within the city have begun to get tested for Dutch elm disease.

The City of Regina’s Russel Eirich shows a branch infected with Dutch elm disease on June 20, 2017. (Britton Gray/980 CJME)

The disease can completely kill a tree within a matter of weeks if it becomes affected.

Eirich said Regina has lost 94 trees since 1992. He said the average is four trees per year.

He said if you notice a whole limb on a tree die back all of a sudden, with leaves dying but not falling off, you should contact the city so they can test for the disease.