Wild number of wasps in Calgary keeping pest control companies busy

If you’ve noticed more wasps than usual swarming the skies in Calgary this summer, you’re not alone.

Tony O’Neill with Absolute Pest Control says it has been a very busy few weeks.

“Every other call is a wasp job at the moment,” he said. “We’re finding the nests pretty much everywhere — under sheds, people’s patios, absolutely everywhere.”

O’Neill says the amount of calls involving wasps has been a lot higher than in past years, as more insects multiply, compete for food, and become more aggressive, which leads to more stings.

“There’s parts of Calgary where we’re busier than others, but Calgary as a whole is just really busy for wasps this year,” he said.

He adds so far this summer, he’s seen some pretty big nests.

“You’ll probably look around the size of a soccer ball given where we are in the season,” O’Neill said. “So, even though you can’t see that nest, it’s going to be about that sort of size given where it’s going to be. It can go circular shape, it can long ways — all types of formations it can take depending where the nest is.”

There are lots or different products you can buy at hardware stories if you’re looking to deter wasps. Some experts also claim decoy nests can also keep the bugs away, as they see another nest and move on.

But, if the nest on your property is rather large, O’Neill suggests calling in reinforcements.

“I wouldn’t recommend doing it yourself, no,” he said.

Part of Calgary Zoo closed due to wasps

Wasps are apparently getting so bad, they forced the closure of a part of the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo on Tuesday.

The zoo took to social media Tuesday and posted that the Land of Lemurs is temporarily closed due to wasp activity.

“Our operations teams are working hard to remove the wasps so the area can reopen safely,” reads a statement on the zoo’s website.

The zoo says the wasps are not posing a risk to the lemurs or African grey crowned cranes.