Buzz kill: Mosquitos spoil fall fair kickoff

Midway operator Matt Fess concedes northern Ontario mosquitos have nothing on Rodney, Ont. Arriving Sunday night, Fess could not get over how thick the bugs were when compared to his last stop.

“You had to swat them with your hands almost like a bat. They were so thick,” he said.

But the show must go on, so Matt and his fellow crew members set up for the 167th Rodney Fair — but they paid a price.

“It is like I got chicken pox with all the bites I got,” he said.

Dan Balint, the president of the fair, knows firsthand how inundated the fairgrounds were.

His arms and head are covered with bites. Balint said no amount of bug spray could keep them at bay.

The opening of the 2023 Rodney Fair was plagued by mosquitoes. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)

“Stand here for five minutes, and everything was good. You think the bug spray is working, and then [snaps fingers] away you run!” he explained.

And with a stampede for the exits, a decision had to be made.

Out of concern for the health of volunteers and patrons, the fair board canceled outdoor entertainment and a beer garden set for Friday night.

The grace period gave a professional pest control firm time to saturate the area with a bug killer.

By Friday morning, it seemed to have worked.

That being said however, the witching hour for mosquitos is dusk.

Two volunteers prepare for indoor displays at the 2023 Rodney Fair. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)“I have a good feeling that by tonight, I will have a good idea of how the mosquitos are doing, and already this morning, it is definitely showing its effects in a positive manner,” said Balint.

As a result, weekend events — including the midway, tractor pull, and demolition derby — will go ahead as planned.

“By Saturday it will be probably one of the few spots in West Elgin that will be mosquito-free. Everyone will be happy to be outside again,” Balint said.

And that is true even for the carnival workers and volunteers still nursing hundreds of mosquito bites.

“They’ve gotten a healthy dose of blood out of me, I guess,” joked Balint.