Wasp numbers surge in B.C. amid warm weather and abundant food
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VANCOUVER — Pest control experts say they’ve seen a “dramatic increase” of wasp calls in British Columbia, as warm weather and abundant food contribute to a late summer surge in numbers of the stinging insects.
Backcountry and rescue groups have been warning against the unusual number of wasps on popular trails, and on Tuesday a climber needed to be extracted from north of Vancouver after they were attacked by a swarm and suffered a severe systemic reaction.
Mat Neale, manager at Solutions Pest Control in Metro Vancouver, says wasp activity in the past few years have been quite low, but technicians were now dealing with eight to 10 calls a day.
Neale says warm and dry temperatures, and a recent boom in the population of hemlock looper moths — a prime food source for wasps — have contributed to the spike in wasp activity.
