Now that the hotter weather is upon us and we’re spending more time outside, you may be suffering the wrath of itchy, biting and buzzing mosquitoes, but experts say nothing is out of the ordinary with the annoying insects.

Researchers at the University of Calgary say that the populations that we’re dealing with now are spring mosquitoes that arrived a month later than usual, due to the exceptionally cool and snowy start to the season.

“Everybody was complaining about the spring. It was cold, it was snowy at times so, in that sense, we lost of month of mosquito season and the spring mosquitoes,” says John Swann, an entomologist at the University of Calgary.

Once the hotter weather settled in, Swann says the populations have exploded but they aren’t to the level that other years have seen.

“It’s progressed faster than I was expecting. But realistically, we aren’t even up to what should be a normal year. The previous two to three years it’s been very low counts. This year, it’s ramping up faster but still, we aren’t that bad.”

Another round of mosquitoes, the species that have the ability to carry West Nile virus, is due to arrive in the summer, followed by another few types that thrive in the fall.

Swann says you can avoid being bitten by staying inside during dusk and dawn, the times when mosquitoes feed the most, cover up exposed skin and wear a bug repellent with DEET.

As for how bad the rest of the year will be in terms of mosquitoes, Swann says it all depends on the weather.

“We’re not expected to have much rain until next Thursday and it’s the standing water that mosquitoes breed in. So, overland flooding areas are the regions where I would be more worried about having a heavier mosquito season.”

Swann says that the worst case scenario for southern Alberta could result in a normal year, but he doesn’t think it will be that bad either.

“The first year I was here, about 10 years ago, they were lamenting that the Edmonton Eskimos had to practice indoors because the mosquitoes were so bad. That’s bad mosquitoes; that’s the environment I grew up in. So, what we’re seeing right now, they aren’t carrying off our kids at the local soccer pitches so it’s not that bad.”

For additional information on preventative measures against mosquitoes, you can check the Alberta Health Services website.

(With files from Ina Sidhu)