CALGARY- The city is literally crawling with creepy critters.
It’s not just an influx of aphids that are bugging Calgarians. It’s spiders galore out there, and those wide webs can be hard to get rid of, no matter how often you dust and sweep.
Experts say this summer’s wet weather is to blame, as it’s keeping plants extra lush—perfect for insects.
“We’ve had a relatively wet summer except the last few weeks, and all the plants are still green, so you’re going to have all the plant feeding insects doing really well still, which includes aphids,” explains John Swann, an entomologist at the University of Calgary. “So you’re going to have a nice big aphid population, which then becomes food for our lovely little spiders, and they’re doing really well.”
He adds that those spiders are timid and harmless, because they can’t bite through your skin.
“They’re actually helping you in terms of controlling things that are pests in your garden. So personally, I leave them alone.”
Swann expects the bug boom to end in a few weeks, when the colder weather sets in.
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