Wasp population boom because of hot, dry weather
By: Millaine Wells
Updated: July 9, 2012
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) - If your weekend plans were interrupted by some pesky wasps, prepare for some more uninvited guests.
The hot dry weather is leading to a bumper crop of the insects.
"That is the start of [a nest]" says Lori Bankson, Animal Curator at the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary.
In a typical year wasp patrol does not start at the facility until the end of August.
"It is just so warm and it's been so unusual they are really out there populating, building those nests" says Bankson.
"You cannot really treat individual wasps flying around. We want to go out find the nest take it from there" says Cole Stillings, a Technician with Plunkett's Pest Control.
Local exterminators are taking more calls than normal because wasps are dangerous to deal with.
"They actually have guards sitting on the outside of the nest and they'll come out and attack you when you're coming up to it" explains Stillings.
If you do try to remove the colony on your own it is best to work after sunset.
"They are going to be dormant and in the nest" explains Bankson.
Experts recommend monthly maintenance like spray that keeps wasps and other critters from making a home near yours.
Bee hives are treated differently.
"Because they are so beneficial we will call beekeepers in and they will take the honeybees and move them" says Stillings.
According to Bankson "Bees our are friends. They are what help us out with seeds and flowers. Wasps are the ones that humans notice will go after the sweet foods and the sodas".
Some local Fire Departments carry equipment to deal with wasps.
They will come out to deal with large nests.
