A yellowjacket wasp from a home in Edmonton on Aug. 28. Jun Bukht, an associate certified entomologist in Edmonton with Major Pest Control, says queen wasps are laying between 200 and 300 eggs a day as temperatures climb.Supplied
During backyard barbecues, around campfires and on walks in the sizzling sun, one topic seemed to dominate conversations among Albertans who spent time outdoors over the long weekend – wasps.
Hordes of the yellow and black insects seemed to suffocate the skies, forcing residents to swat, sigh and struggle as they tried to keep the pests away. Makeshift traps, filled with vinegar, dish soap and even jam, captured and killed some of the unwelcome guests but reinforcements were seemingly always at the ready. With every wasp down, there were two abuzz.
Jun Bukht, an associate certified entomologist in Edmonton with Major Pest Control, said extreme heat and dry conditions have led to the influx of wasps, which are reproducing and growing at faster rates. He said queen wasps are laying between 200 and 300 eggs a day as temperatures climb into the high 20s and 30s.
“We are seeing three generations in three weeks’ time. Usually it’s one,” Mr. Bukht said. “They’re completing their whole life cycle from egg to adult in seven to 10 days now.”
He said calls to Major Pest Control to exterminate wasps have increased threefold this summer, averaging at about 30 calls daily compared with 10 this time last year. Adding to the issue is the abundance of food for wasps, specifically “honeydew” excreted from aphids that have overwhelmed the province, a result of a wet spring and hot summer.
Mr. Bukht said cooler temperatures, rain and humidity will repel wasps but that current conditions are expected to prevail until October. Until then, some Albertans have taken the problem into their own hands.
Edmontonian Audric Moses said the population of wasps in his backyard exploded about a week ago into what he calls a waspocalypse. He found them hollowing out apples, eating them from the inside out, and swarming his blueberry plants.
“It almost suddenly just got really hard to be in the yard because anything you tried to do, you’d be surrounded by these buzzing wasps,” he said. “Either you just have to hightail it out of there or get stung.”
Not a fan of pesticides used by many pest control companies, Mr. Moses hung his own traps to fight back against the insurgence. He filled his first trap with hot water, dish soap and leftover jam. It quickly piled up with wasp carcasses. He dumped it and has been refilling the trap as needed with apple cider vinegar, water, sugar and a dash of dish soap.
He said hundreds of wasps were being trapped each day but, on Tuesday, the death toll appeared to be tapering.
“I’ve definitely had the trap up in past years – not every year – but it hasn’t been this bad. This is the worst that I’ve seen it,” said Mr. Moses, whose wife was stung recently. “I’m hoping that the trapping has actually made a difference.”
Mr. Bukht, who is also the author of Stories From the Trenches – A Homeowner’s Guide to Pest Control, said it can be fatal if someone is stung multiple times or is allergic to wasp venom. He said, because of these dangers, it’s important to get rid of an infestation quickly.
He said it is becoming increasingly common to find wasp nests in places sheltered from the elements, such as under decks, rather than hanging from trees. Mr. Bukht said prevention, such as cleaning up food and garbage left outdoors, is key to avoiding a wasp invasion. But he urged people to seek professional help if multiple wasps are seen buzzing about for days.