Pour out anything that can collect standing water and become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. That from City of Saskatoon entomologist Sydney Worthy who points to the usual culprits like kids toys, bird baths, rain catchers or rain barrels.

She says the general rule of thumb is that from eggs to adulthood it takes two weeks for mosquitoes to hatch and that the sudden blast that came on the heels of the recent rainfall could have an impact on mosquito populations because mosquitoes don’t thrive when it is hot and dry.

Numbers this year have been lower than last year and definitely lower than the 10 year average but the most recent monitoring shows an uptick in mosquitoes.

She says they have found the larvae for culex tarsalis mosquitoes but the concern is still quite low and they expect to see the mosquito which causes West Nile Virus to be more prominent at the end of July going into August.

The City still treats standing water with a larvicide that is specific to biting flies and does not impact wild life.