Do you feel like you're swatting, scratching and slapping away more than usual this summer? You're not alone and you're not just imagining things. According to the city of Airdrie Parks Operation Coordinator, Jeff Hughes, there has been an increase in the city's mosquito population.

Hughes said that due to the spring being quite wet, the mosquito population has thrived. 

"We don't currently treat mosquitoes, either adults or larva. In the past, we had a smaller control program, but we didn't really have a noticeable impact on the numbers with that," he said. "The past two seasons were typically dry, so we had very minimal numbers of mosquitoes out there."

However, Hughes added that with high temperatures and drier conditions during the second part of July, mosquito breeding areas have been drying up. 

"The numbers have dropped substantially here in the past week or so."

According to the city of Calgary, some tips to keep mosquitos at bay, at least in one's backyard is to remove any shallow standing water on the property and keep lawns shorter, considering mosquitos love to nest there. Also, using a  fan to create a barrier against mosquitoes helps as they can't fly if it's windy. Mosquitos are also known to carry diseases, including the West Nile Virus (WNV) and may transmit the virus to humans and animals. However, in 2020, Alberta only reported one case of asymptomatic WNV.

But the good news is that the average mosquito lives less than two months, with males living 10 days or less while females can live up to eight weeks.

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