'I'm going seven days a week': Southern Alberta pest control companies swamped with calls during hot, dry summer
Last summer was a busy one for Pamela MacLeod, a pest control specialist with nearly 15 years of experience, but this year is on another level.
"I was doing a lot last year. There was definitely an increase, but this year, I would say double," she said.
"I'm going seven days a week right now. Even this long weekend, I thought I'd take a day off, but nope. That's not happening."
Spiders seem to be more abundant compared to previous years but the real issue most people are facing has to do with ants and grasshoppers who thrive in the warm conditions.
When it comes to grasshoppers, local garden centres are being inundated with questions from people trying to find a way to keep their gardens safe from the hungry insects.
"Unfortunately for grasshoppers, there isn't much for pesticide spray," said Green Haven Garden Centre horticulturist Dustin Napper.
"But, you can use cultural controls such as crop covers or knitting over the plants just to keep the grasshoppers off as the pass through."
For ants, the dry weather this summer means handfuls of Lethbridge residents are seeing droves of ants venturing into their home in search of something to drink.
"It's because of water. There's just no water for them. We're really lacking it for our insects and our wildlife," said MacLeod.
Even if they don't get into the house, lawn care professionals are seeing the number of ant colonies in residential yards skyrocket.
"I definitely have been running over a lot of ant hills when I'm mowing. This year is definitely worse," said owner and operator of Welcome Home Property Care Suzette Peters.
"It makes the watering super inconsistent. These ant hills will dry out the whole area around them and it just becomes nasty little patches."
But this year, pest control companies are dealing with more than just insect-related calls.
MacLeod is also getting lots of calls for mice, which she said is incredibly rare for this time of year.
"Mice are showing up in people's homes in July for the same reasons. There's just not enough water," she said.
"All of these insects and rodents are suffering it seems. I even noticed that for gophers, I have not seen the same population that I usually see. They're staying closer to the river, and not around the farms."
Macleod says the bulk of the calls are from people living in newly developed neighbourhoods of west Lethbridge which for her, doesn't come as a surprise.
"People have to remember, that used to be [the rodents'] home. So when they say that these rodents have moved into their home... No, you've moved into their home. So they're just moving back in."
With the weather expected to remain toasty for the foreseeable future, pest control companies are buckling in for a couple more months of what has already been one of, if not the busiest summer on record.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Nine suspects arrested in $24M gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport: Peel police
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year, Peel Regional Police said Wednesday.
Some of the winners and losers in the 2024 federal budget
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Canada is expected to win 22 medals at the Paris Olympics
Canada is expected to win a total of 22 medals, including six gold, at the Paris Summer Olympics, which open on July 26.
500 Newfoundlanders wound up on the same cruise and it turned into a rocking kitchen party
A Celebrity Apex cruise to the Caribbean this month turned into a rocking Newfoundland kitchen party when hundreds of people from Canada's easternmost province happened to be booked on the same ship.
Liberals must now sell a budget they say will help younger Canadians catch up
It's now up to the federal Liberal government to sell a spending plan it says will help younger Canadians catch up to their elders.
Father of boy accused of stabbing 2 Australian clerics saw no signs of extremism, Muslim leader says
The father of a boy accused of stabbing two Christian clerics in Australia saw no signs of his son’s extremism, a Muslim community leader said on Wednesday as police began arresting suspected rioters who besieged a Sydney church demanding revenge.
Ontario woman out $30K after investing in mortgage company accused of being unlicensed
An Ontario nurse is fighting to recover tens of thousands of dollars in savings she invested in a mortgage company that has since been accused of operating without a licence.
Young New Brunswick songwriter makes appearance on 'The Kelly Clarkson Show'
Eight-year-old songwriter Zuri Hamilton from Miramichi, N.B., got to show off her talent on 'The Kelly Clarkson Show' on Monday.