Post by Shadow broker on Sept 9, 2015 11:48:03 GMT
Aggressive, hungry wasps set to invade Britain's gardens as weather cools
An army of wasps is set to swarm Britain's gardens, as record numbers born earlier this year begin desperate search for food
A few weeks ago Britain was reeling from a plague of flying ants, and now another invasion of stinging creatures is coming our way.
More wasps than ever are expected to swarm Britain's gardens, causing misery to those trying to enjoy the last few warm days before autumn really hits.
The hot, dry start to the summer in June and July provided ideal breeding conditions for wasps, leading to a rapid population increase.
Now, as September starts, and the weather begins to cool, this huge army of insects will be out in force trying to find enough to eat.
As the weather cools, the queens go into hibernation to get ready for building a new nest the spring and the 'worker' wasps are left to fend for themselves.
This is why, over the next four weeks, Brits can expect to see huge numbers of the creatures hovering around that sugary beer or early September picnic or gorging off ripe fruit on trees.
Duncan Mclean, Buyer for Garden Nourish and Control at Wyevale Garden Centres, said their hunger will make wasps more aggressive than usual and so more likely to sting.
He said: "It is definitely a bumper year for insects, and homeowners can expect the ‘invasion’ to continue for the next few weeks.
"It’s very likely you will see plenty of wasps around as they have become more active recently. People should be aware of them as, when the temperature drops, wasps become more sluggish and aggressive."
Wyevale Garden Centres, a national chain, has seen the biggest ever sales of wasp killer at all its stores, with an increase of 180 per cent year on year.
The garden centre has also seen steady sales in ant killer, as flying ants continue to be seen in Britain's gardens.
According to experts, the yearly Flying Ant Day was between 31st July and 2nd August - when the insects gather in massive numbers to reproduce over a few days, or weeks. But the ants don't appear to have got the memo and are still out in force.
Moreover, these winged creatures seem to have encouraged the common garden spider out of hiding, which is bad news for arachnophobes, but good news for keeping pests down.
Mr Mclean added: "As for garden spiders - we have also spotted more numbers of these, not great news for the arachnophobes amongst us, but buoyant numbers of the eight-legged creatures are great for pest consumption in gardens across the country.”
In order to cope with the insects, the garden centre is encouraging people to use insecticides or citronella for a more natural deterrent.
It advises people not to plant fruit trees too close to your house, use wasp traps and encourage natural predators such as birds into their gardens to help keep insect infestations, like flying ants, down.
