Wasp Boom Causing a Major Buzz
Ron Albertson, The Hamilton SpectatorWasps are the uninvited guests in many backyards this summer.
August 20, 2009
The Hamilton Spectator
(Aug 20, 2009)
Stay calm and don't wave your arms.
That's the best way to avoid being stung by a wasp and excellent advice this year.
This is the year of the yellow jacket, a high point in the boom-and-bust cycle of bug life.
There are millions of them out there, terrorizing picnickers and gardeners alike.
The good news is that, after a bumper year, there won't be so many next summer.
Pest control operators and insect experts agree this is one of the worst years for wasps in some time. Last winter's mild weather boosted the number of queens that survived hibernation to establish nests this year.
"It's about a two-year cycle," says Gary Dagg, service manager for Orkin Canada in Stoney Creek. "There will be fewer next year."
Wasp-control calls have spiked this year in "a huge increase," Dagg says.
This is the time of year wasps and humans meet.
Wasps switched from their spring diet of other insects and meat sources a couple of weeks ago and are now ranging further in an aggressive search for sugar-rich foods to help their queens survive the coming winter.
So they're coming after your picnics, soda drinks, fruit, blue boxes and green bins.
Unlike bees, which get one shot at you, each wasp can sting many times and will be aggressive defending nests and food.
While the Hamilton public health department says wasps are not considered a danger to humans, they can be a real health hazard to people who suffer allergic reactions to stings.
Wasps nest just about anywhere a queen can find a sheltered spot -- under the eaves, in holes in the ground, inside walls or under porches. So it is little wonder they can appear from nowhere to defend a nest you don't even know is there.
There are plenty of over-the-counter products to get rid of them, from foams to liquid blasters, because wasps are exempt from Ontario's pesticide use laws. However, Dagg says, if you cannot get at them and get away easily, the best thing to do is to call a professional.
But you can minimize the impact of wasps on your lifestyle, he said.
Start by rinsing pop cans and food containers before you put them in your blue box. Wasps love leftover pop.
Keep your garbage can lid tight. Keep an eye out for holes in walls and seal them up.
"Take a good look around your home for nests," Dagg says. "Yellow jackets tend to get behind siding in spots and holes and doing regular maintenance will prevent nests there next year."
Don't go after them in daylight, he says -- they use light to navigate.
And be careful plugging holes you see them using. If you plug the light hole guiding them outside, they are liable to turn inward, seeking a light source such as your kitchen fixtures.
Also, be careful with perfume.
"Strong fragrances in perfumes and colognes and even shampoos will attract them right now," he says.
"They're out there looking for scents."