Mosquito numbers in Okotoks seem to be higher than expected this spring.

Town of Okotoks Parks Manager Christa Michailuck says it's surprising, especially considering last summer's dry weather and the dryness we've already been experiencing this season.

But she says last winter's heavy snowfall could have contributed to lingering standing water.

The town's been proceeding with its mosquito control program, starting with monitoring surface waters for mosquito larvae.

"So when we find surface waters that have larvae in it, we use a natural soil bacterium that only interrupts the digestive system of mosquito larvae, so it's safe for other aquatic organisms," Michailuck says. "We place that in the water and that gets rid of the mosquito larvae."

But even though they've had some success with the water additive, the pesky problem remains and the culprit is standing water, which provides the breeding ground mosquitoes require.

"There's perhaps a lot of small standing water areas around the municipality that are beyond our borders that we wouldn't be treating, as well as any standing water on private property," she says. "It could be children's play toys out in the yard that have some water in them, rain barrels, eavestroughs that might be plugged, anything like that is all that it takes for mosquitoes to reproduce in."

Nest boxes at the Okotoks off-leash dog park have attracted pairs of tree swallows, which have healthy appetites for flying insects and help with mosquito controls.

Also, Michailuck says there's some things homeowners can do to pitch in with the fight against mosquitoes.

"They should empty out any standing water that they find around their yards and gardens at least once a week to prevent those mosquito larvae from hatching," she says. "And if they do have rain barrels they can get a screen cover for them, or, after they've watered their plants they can treat their rain barrels with a small amount of chlorine bleach."

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