What’s bugging you? Expert gives tips on wasp prevention and more

On Thursday morning, Shawn Sherwood with Poulin’s Pest Control joined guest host Tamara Cherry on The Evan Bray Show.

Sherwood gave tips on wasp prevention and answered all other bug-related questions from callers.

Here are a selection of questions and answers from our August 8 show.

Why are wasps so bad this time of year?

At the start of the year, the young queens come out of hibernation and start nests. Those nests tend to be very small. Most people don’t even notice them. The nest grows over the summer, and we get into the fall, and the nests are five hundred to one thousand members strong. When they have that many mouths to feed, they need to get more food, so they end up invading our space. It’s been hot and dry for over a month, which has caused reproductive rates to increase.

Is it worse this year?

Absolutely. The years where we’ve had really wet springs and long prolonged winters, we don’t see many of them.

What is the best action to take to avoid getting a swarm of wasps living in my yard?

Early in the spring, if you take some of those fake wasp nests and hang one or two of those around your yard. Then, when a juvenile queen hatches out and is looking for a place to set up a nest, she will see the fake nest and will decide that there is too much competition in that area and will choose to build a nest somewhere else.

Once you get to this time of year, they’ll go after the bugs that you’ve killed on the front of your vehicle as one of their food sources. If you can find the nest, then you can treat the nest directly, and that will eliminate a lot of them.

If you can’t find the nest, then the wasp and hornet traps work really well. Fill them up with a liquid that the wasps will like, and they will be attracted to those. But don’t put them right beside the patio. Put them four of five feet away.

How often do you have to change the wasp traps?

Once they get about two-thirds full and you’re in a situation where you have more of an odour of dead wasps coming out of the trap compared to the smell of whatever liquid you’ve put in to attract them, then you’re getting repulsion. That’s when it’s time to change them, when you’re getting around two-thirds to three-quarters full.

Does adding a bit of meat to the wasp traps help attract wasps?

At this time of year, absolutely it does. In the spring they’re after sugars, now they’re after proteins.

How can you repel the little black flies that bite?

Deet.

How do I get rid of carpenter ants from my yard?

If they’re living in the yard, they’re a different kind of species from a carpenter ant.

Typically, in homes you have a satellite colony, so what you’re looking for with carpenter ants is the holes where they’re pumping out the debris. And we can treat up into those holes either with a powder or an insecticide under pressure and usually eliminate them pretty easily.

Our long Saskatchewan winters prevent them from doing a whole lot of damage every year. As far as the ants that are outside, insecticidal powders applied on a regular basis will be able to beat them back given enough time.

Will ants in my yard try to make their way into my house?

It’ll depend on the species that you’re dealing with.

Usually, it’s pavement ants or field ants that cause problems around homes.

Those colonies will continue to grow, and eventually, early in the spring, when it’s too cold for them to be foraging outside, they’re going to be up against your foundation, and they will start to find their way in.

I would start going after them early. The only way you eliminate an ant colony is by attrition. You have to go after it continuously, either with powder or sprays.

How do I get ants out of my basement? There seems to be more and more showing up. What’s the best way to get rid of them?

I would do an interior perimeter spray around baseboards, windows, and doors. I would do an outside powdering, and I would reapply the powder every time it gets wet or after a couple of weeks. I would also put out a bunch of sugar-based ant baits.

I have beetles inside my home, how do I get rid of them and prevent more from coming in?

Reduce the amount of outside light at night because they are attracted to light. As well as putting a powder perimeter around the house so they are forced to crawl through it. When they are inside the house, a vacuum cleaner is really effective at getting rid of them.

I have bees coming in through my gas line going underneath my siding, should I seal around the hole?

That’s a really bad idea. If you close up the hole that they’re using, they’re going to go looking for another hole. 50 per cent chance that hole is going to be into your house. If it’s into your house, then you’re going to have a houseful of bees.

Will pouring boiling water into an ant hill help eliminate the colony?

If it’s a very small new colony, then it will work. But as the water goes deeper into the soil, it loses its heat. And once you get down three or four inches, it’s just water.

How do I get rid of dew worms in my lawn?

You don’t want to get rid of them because they are aerating the soil for you.

How are maple bugs able to get into my house?

If you have siding on your house, they climb underneath the siding, and they can work their way into the walls. They are attracted to light, so they will come in around the lights, window frames, and door frames.

I have little red spiders on my daisies; how can I get rid of them?

Spray them with soap and water.

How do I get rid of spiders in my basement?

Interior perimeter spray of windows, door frames, and corners with an insecticidal.

These questions and answers have been edited and condensed.