There seems to be a certain buzz in the air lately in Regina.
If you’re thinking about the Queen City Ex, which started on Wednesday, well, it’s one of the places around town you’ll find wasps buzzing around more than normal.
There’s a chance you’ll be greeted by the yellow and black insect if you’re consuming some of the tasty treats found at the fair.
Jason Au, who is with the Mini Donut Factory, one of the food stands set up at the Queen City Ex, said they have noticed more wasps in Regina than at any of their other stops this summer in western Canada.
“Of course, with the sugar, we noticed they come to us,” mentioned Au. “For Calgary and Edmonton, it wasn’t a big thing. But in Regina, they are out in full force.”
Au said he and his team have been doing their best to control the wasps by setting up buckets containing sugar away from their stand so they can accumulate away from their set-up, but more keep showing up.
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“We do glazing and cinnamon sugar, so they absolutely love it.”
While the City of Regina has no strong data at this time to show just how many wasps there are flying around in the community, even city workers have noticed more and more wasps in recent weeks.
Russell Eirich, the City of Regina’s manager of open space services, explained that it’s a little too early to determine how many wasps there are in the city since he and his department rely on service calls to give them more of a numerical indication.
However, he said they will get more aggressive as the month of August rolls on and peak at approximately the Labour Day weekend.
“Anecdotally, we are seeing it. I’ve seen it in my own yard and so have some of my team members as well,” Eirich discussed.
On a personal note, Eirich admitted he has had to remove three wasp nests from his property alone this year.
He suggested keeping a close eye around your yard to see if wasps are building or have already built a nest since this is the time of year where people start finding or noticing wasp nests.
Eirich said sometimes nests can be found in areas such as in hedges, trees, under steps or decks, to make sure a nest isn’t being built near your home this summer.
“You will see wasps coming and going, and you might see wasps enter and exit these areas, which may indicate there’s a nest,” Eirich added.
“If you think you’re nearby one, let the wasp do its thing and maybe follow it a little, and then you might see where they are coming in and out of.”
He said there are lots of products out there to control wasps and their nests, but he recommended taking care of it early in the morning when the air is cool.
“At about 5 or 6 a.m. since most of the wasps will be in the nest at that point in time and it’s a safer for you.”
Alternatively, Eirich said there are pest control companies in the community that can take care of these types of situations if the homeowner doesn’t want to risk it.
If nests are located in a tree or property belonging to the City of Regina, Eirich mentioned that the City will provide service.
Service calls can be directed to 777-7000.
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