Student standing guard against collateral damage from Kanata mosquito purge

The mosquito kill in Kanata North seems to be keeping the blood-sucking insects away this summer, but a University of Ottawa student is patrolling the marshes of the South March Highlands to see if the pesticides being used are killing off anything else in the local ecosystem.

In April GDG Environment, hired by the City of Ottawa, began applying daily doses of liquid larvicide, known as Bti (BacillusThuringiensis Israelensis) and Bs (Bacillus Sphaericus), to prevent mosquito larvae from hatching in the area.

"[Bti] is selective for mosquitoes but there are other organisms out here that we want to make sure aren't being harmed by the product," biology student Liam Epp told CBC's Ottawa Morning.

"But then also what is the result of removing the mosquito from the environment? Is there going to be an effect on other organisms that eat mosquitoes?"

Checks traps, takes samples

Twice a week Epp checks the traps he's set up to catch adult insects and collects water samples in the marsh.

"If we find no mosquitoes then it looks like Bti is working, but if we find no other insects that are common in the untreated area it shows us [the larvicide] may have an effect on other inspects," he explained.

Epp said it's still too early in the experiment to draw any conclusions, but spending his days out in the marsh with racoons, snakes, herons and wild plants has reminded him why he's doing it in the first place.

"The biodiversity that we see here, that's why we preserve these areas," he said. "There's a big food web here."

Local residents grateful

He's not just running into wildlife: Epp said he's met residents along the way who tell him they're grateful the mosquitoes are staying away.

"The people that I do run into are very thankful for [the mosquito eradication] program because they are able to bike through the forest without being mauled by mosquitoes... People were being eaten alive," he said.

Now, "We can stand out here in a T-shirt and not have to slap a mosquito."

Epp is working with an adviser, biology professor Antoine Morin, on the study. Their research is funded by the levy Kanata residents are paying for the mosquito program, about $20 per household annually.

Kanata North households voted 72 per cent in favour of the levy during a special referendum, but only 18.5 per cent of the nearly 13,700 households in the area cast ballots.

The city's $1.5-million, four-year contract with GDG does not target adult mosquitoes.