Mairlyn's Photos - June 25 2026 - Ticks and Mosquitoes
There are two insect pests that we worry about every summer. Ticks and mosquitoes.
We are waiting for a tick vaccine. Pfizer is close to having one ready in the U.S. and likely would make it available in Canada in late 2026 or 2027. It seems to be a long road to completion. A vaccine was withdrawn in 2002 with panic over unproven side-effects that involved lawsuits. That led to a period of no action by pharmaceuticals. So we arrive 25 or so years later with trials under way in the U.S. that would be followed by trials in Canada.
That's good news as there are lots of tick-borne diseases in Canada besides Lyme Disease. Things like Anaplasmosis and Babesiosis - bacterial and parasitic infections, Powassan virus - a neurological disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever - found in the western provinces, and Tularemia and tick-borne relapsing fever - more rare bacterial infections.
Another concerning pest in our yard this year is mosquitos. My theory goes that it is caused by the hospital and hospice build around the corner next to a creek. Likely the creek flow has been disturbed and there is standing water. Is there a vaccine to prevent mosquito bites? No universal vaccine is available. There are vaccines for specific diseases transmitted by mosquitoes - diseases diseases like chikungunya, yellow fever, and Japanese encephalitis. You have to go on vacation to get these diseases.
The serious disease you can get here is West Nile Disease, and there's no vaccine for it yet. There are a few more mosquito-borne diseases - California Serogroup viruses - endemic to many parts of Canada, Eastern Equine Encephalitis - found in swampy, wooded areas of Ontario and Quebec, and St. Louis Encephalitis - found in southern Canada.
I had never thought about the various types of mosquitoes - there are 50 to 67 species of mosquitoes known to live in Ontario with five types prominent as human pests. Probably my garden has Aedes Vexans as they thrive after heavy rainfalls and are aggressive biters. And likely the Culex Pipiens as it thrives in urban stagnant water.
I checked out Public Health Ontario and they report that since 2002, over 11 million mosquitoes have been collected in Ontario so that they can assess the risk of mosquito-borne diseases. How many might be here in Grimsby right now? My guess is it is far past the trillions into the quadrillion and quintillion sorts of numbers. How bad is it on any given day? The Weather Network has a bug activity report. Today we can expect low black flies, low mosquitoes and no deer flies who are not in season. I hadn't even considered black flies and deer flies in the equation.
And our picture today looks at the opposite end of the insect spectrum. It is Monarch butterfly time and they are laying their eggs.
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