With longer days and warmer weather on the horizon, Canadians are bracing for an irritating summer nuisance: mosquitoes.
The small, long-legged insects are not just a nuisance, but also the world’s deadliest animal because of the diseases they carry.
Sean Rollo, technical director for Orkin Canada, said fortunately, they are usually more of an irritant than anything in Canada.
“In Canada, we don’t have yellow fever or malaria or some of the other diseases, but it is possible to get West Nile Virus here which is serious but it’s pretty rare,” said Rollo.
Rollo said Canadians can take preventative measures by searching diligently for stagnant water sources such as flower pots, bird baths, swamps, and ponds as these areas are potential breeding grounds.
According to Orkin, there are other ways to protect yourself, including:
- Wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants
- Minimizing outdoor exposure during peak mosquito activity as mosquitoes are most active during dusk and dawn
- Switching outdoor light bulbs to yellow varieties, which can be less appealing to mosquitoes
Environment Canada says there are about 3,000 species of mosquitoes in the world, of which 80 live in Canada.
