Controversial spraying program takes a bite out of Kanata North mosquito problem

A controversial mosquito control program in west Ottawa appears to be paying dividends for residents.

Kanata North is a ward that includes some significant wetlands that tend to produce significant mosquito populations. “Oh yeah, last year was crazy,” says Scott King. “I couldn’t sit outside last year.”

Fed up with feeding the bloodsuckers, residents voted to fund a 4-year, $1.5 million dollar program to spray bacteria that targets and kills mosquito larvae in local waterways.

Spraying started in late April of this year and, while the initial evidence is only anecdotal, residents say it’s working. Christine Cao is enjoying something she couldn’t do last year, gardening in the evening. “We feel it’s a big improvement,” she says.

The program was divisive from the start. Some residents who lived further from the wetlands wondered why they had to pay to help those who chose to live near them. Others see it as interfering with the natural order of things. “We live next to a pond, next to a swamp, we expect mosquitoes,” says Doug Lynch. “So I just say let nature be nature.”

But most agree there are far fewer mosquitoes this year. A dry start to the summer could account for some of the reduction, but even in a dry year the wetlands remain. Actual mosquito counts won’t be known until later in the season, but the target is to reduce numbers by 80%.