Wasp season in Lethbridge seeing average numbers, experts say
Wasps and hornets have become a bit of a pain in southern Alberta, especially as the summer winds down.
“This year’s numbers are fairly average with previous years,” said Jessica Deacon-Rogers, program coordinator Helen Schuler Nature Centre.
“So they start out with very few numbers in the spring and throughout the summer their numbers build, build and build,” she said. “So this time of year is when their populations are at a maximum in the colony that they live in and so that's why we're seeing a lot of them at this time of year.”
With a hot August, Deacon-Rogers said that’s resulted in a slight increase of wasps this year.
“We also had a very warm summer and early fall and so often what happens is we start getting those hard, hard frosts and cold, cold weather at the night and they start dying,” Deacon-Rogers said. “So, a lot of the population decreases and because we haven't had a lot of that cool weather yet we still have really high populations of them in all of their colonies.”
Whether out for a stroll, or enjoying a beverage on a patio, wasps seem to be everywhere.
“There have been some patrons that have had to seek shelter inside the restaurants because of the wasps, but we've been fairly fortunate that for the most part we can still use our patio,” said Dawn Lindwall with Telegraph Taphouse.
Lindwall said the wasp activity has increased over the past few weeks, with Telegraph Taphouse only one of many locations in Lethbridge dealing with the pests.
“It was like overnight that they descended upon on us, but it sounds like there's been quite a few places in Lethbridge having similar issues,” Lindwall said.
Don't expect a peaceful, wasp-free picnic anytime soon. Deacon-Rogers said the hornets and yellow-jackets are primarily scavengers, and defensive behaviour increases as the colony populations grow and food is scarce.
She said taking proper precautions can help limit their activity.
“Making sure things like composts have lids on them and that there sealed, making sure your garbage is contained and we don't have a lot of food out,” Deacon-Rogers said.
“They'll basically find whatever food source that they have available, so just watching those areas. If you have food or drinks outside, ensuring you cover them up when you’re not drinking or eating can help to not attract them.”
Wasp season is expected to slow down after Thanksgiving weekend.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Canada's favourite sport to watch is hockey, survey shows
The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs have already delivered a fever level of fan excitement in Canada.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.