Foothills residents may have not had the best summer weather this year but on the upside they also haven't had to deal with any mosquitoes either.

Mosquitoes usually make an appearance in May or June when the weather starts warming up and become a huge nuisance in cooler times of the days such as mornings and evenings.

But it's already July and the pesky insects can't be found anywhere.

Okotoks Parks Manager Christa Michailuck says we can thank the early hot weather the Foothills experienced for that.

"There was just less standing water around spring time for them to reproduce in. So even if and when they do show up I would expect their populations to be lower, unless the standing water remains and we get a lot more rain that adds to the standing water."

Michailuck says even though they haven't made an appearance yet, we shouldn't get too used to the idea of a mosquito-free summer.

"Honestly we expected them to show up after the rains we just had and they still probably will. The life cycle of the mosquito may just be approaching the time where they'd be starting to hatch but we have heard messaging from the City of Calgary to anticipate increased mosquitoes since the rain so they still could make an appearance."

Though most municipalities have mosquito control programs, Michailuck says we can do our part by tending to any standing water in our yards as well.

"Residents can help by ensuring that they dump out any standing water on their property and that could be: toys, plant trays, lawn furniture, paddle pools, things like that that have water standing in them. People can also keep bird baths refreshed or rain barrels covered, that can prevent mosquitoes from getting very abundant."

Mosquitoes only need a very small amount of water to reproduce and thrive in.