As summer draws to a close and Canadians try to enjoy the last warm days with picnics and outdoor barbecues, there is an unwanted guest that seems to be everywhere: wasps.
These buzzing insects are out in full force, swarming with food, stinging unsuspecting victims and turning peaceful garden gatherings into frantic swatting sessions. This increase in wasp activity, a common occurrence in late summer, may lead some to wonder why these critters are particularly aggressive at this time and what, if anything, can be done to keep them at bay.
“This happens at the end of each season when wasp nests are at their peak,” explains Nathaniel Heppell, owner of Ace Humane Wildlife Removal and Pest Control in Oakville, Ont.
“But this year they were quite extensive. I’m quite surprised by the massive population in some of these colonies. That’s something important that was different from last year. The population in these colonies is larger than I am used to,” he told Global News.
Wasps become more aggressive in late summer and early fall as their colony dynamics change significantly, Heppell said. The wasps most often seen buzzing around food during this time are yellow jackets, which are currently causing the most problems for humans.
Thousands of people are stung by these poisonous insects every year, according to Health Canada. In rare cases, severe allergic reactions to the venom can be fatal. The agency recommends seeking immediate medical attention if a sting causes unusual swelling, itching, dizziness or shortness of breath.
Despite being a nuisance, wasps are also useful in many ways. Worker wasps catch insects such as flies and caterpillars to feed their developing larvae, helping to control pest populations. They also act as pollinators when they visit flowers for nectar.
And it’s completely normal for them to be extra annoying this time of year, Heppell said.
“Yellow jackets don’t make honey, but yellow jackets produce larvae – we call them larvae which look like little maggots – but they’re just baby yellow jackets. And it’s the job of those workers to get those insect fragments to those babies. And they feed them,” he said.
And when the wasp feeds its larvae, they release a sweet substance called larval secretion, which serves as a sweet reward for the worker wasps. This encourages the workers to continue searching for food to take back to the nest. It is an exchange of food between the two.
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“So when these queens stop producing larvae at the end of the season when the nights become cooler, she is ready to end reproduction within the colony. That means that all those workers, all those hundreds of workers in a colony, no longer have a job and no longer have a source of food. So they come after you,” Heppell said.
While this is part of the normal seasonal pattern for wasps, experts like Heppell say there appear to be more wasps than normal this year.
What’s behind the swarm wave?
The wasp problem is not limited to Ontario. Prairie provinces have also experienced a significant increase in wasp activity this year.
In Calgary, Antoine Ouellette, owner of That Pest Control Guy, told Global News on August 20 that phone lines have been buzzing with wasp activity this season.
“It’s so busy, it’s unbelievable. We receive at least thirty calls a day,” he says.
The increased activity is attributed to the warm weather and abundant food sources, creating ideal conditions for wasps to thrive. One of those food sources is aphids, according to Ouellette. Aphids are small insects that feed on plant sap, and wasps like them because they provide a food source for their larvae.
“The more aphids there are, the more food sources there are, and it’s normal for there to be more wasps,” Ouellette explains.
Another reason contributing to the wasp population is the mild winters some Canadian provinces had, Heppell said.
Mild winters, like those in Ontario this year, make it easier for these species to overwinter, resulting in less dieback and more yellow jackets in the spring.
Wasp wise: how to protect yourself
Lincoln Poulin, president of Poulin’s Pest Control in Winnipeg, noticed high wasp activity this year and recommends caution if you see a wasp nest on your lawn.
People may notice hanging nests in trees and other places. If the nest is visible and hanging on a tree, he says that is relative easy to use insecticide spray to treat itthrow it down and remove it.
However, it is especially important to be careful with nests built in cracks in homes and other crevices in lawns, also known as hidden nests.
“When people discover a wasp nest, I always recommend leaving it to the professionals. I can tell you some of the horror stories I’ve seen when people try to do it themselves,” Poulin said.
Many people try to use expandable foam or silicone to seal openings with wasps in them, but he cautioned against this method. This is because the wasps are likely to get into the house, find another way out and possibly cause more problems.
To avoid being stung by wasps during an outdoor gathering, he recommends using a fan on the deck or in an open area, because wasps don’t like that.
“The other option is wasp traps. Very effective. Wasp traps are designed to attract wasps to where you want them, so perhaps at the edge of the deck or at the fence line. They won’t catch them all, but they will catch a significant number to keep them from going to where you want them. am there.”
– with files from Global News’ Joelle Tomlinson
