'They're really rampant on the patio': Regina restaurants clash with wasps
Servers and guests say they're being stung by the insects while dining outdoors
Summer marks patio season for restaurants like The Lobby Kitchen & Bar in Regina but wasps are cutting the season short for customers hoping to enjoy a meal outside.
"They're really rampant on the patio," says Rylynn Kohli, a server at the restaurant. "They're really frustrating and have been stinging people quite a bit too."
Kohli says customers who wish to sit on the patio are often disappointed once the wasps begin to circle around their tables and food. Because of this they almost immediately request to be seated inside.
She says the restaurant has laid four traps to help put an end to the patio pests but that hasn't led to the outcome they hoped. Kohli says the wasps are still a nuisance for customers.
"We do catch like three or four, but there's just so many," she said.
The Malty National in Regina is also beginning to feel the sting.
"We've had a lot of wasps in the last two weeks, they just decided to come out, so they've been buzzing around everybody here on the patio," says co-owner Adam Smith.
Smith says usually wasps come out later in the summer but this year he's had to deal with them much sooner than he'd hoped.
He says his restaurant has been trapping the wasps by filling up traps with beer so that the insects will be enticed by them instead of guests' food and drinks. He says they're catching "hundreds if not thousands every week" because of the traps.
Pest-busters noticing wasp uptick
Companies like All-Pro Pest Control are being asked to come to the rescue and are feeling the urgency.
"It's only going to get worse as the year goes on as the colonies get larger and larger," says owner-operator Mathew Gelowitz
He says by this time of the year wasp queens have laid their larvae for all of the workers, which increases their colonies and as a result causes an uptick in wasps — and calls to his phone.
Gelowitz says he receives around 10-15 calls a day from desperate businesses and homeowners trying to rid the insects from their properties.
He says he's noticing more calls this summer than in previous years, attributing the increase to the warmer temperatures the province experienced this past winter.
"Generally sometimes if the winters are really harsh a lot of those queens can end up dying, but because it was a warmer winter that's the reason why it's a little bit more this year," he said.
As for their aggression, entomologists say this is typically expected toward the end of the year.
"The workers start having less to do and what happens then is they become a little more aggressive, or at least that's the theory, so they start bothering people," says Sean Prager, associate professor in the department of plant sciences at the University of Saskatchewan.
Prager says wasps also start becoming more desperate for food, especially once there are fewer plants around. Because of this they often start going after food on people's plates.
While traps at restaurants like the Malty National can work to help reduce the amount of wasps, Gelowitz says eating indoors for the time being is a good prevention measure.
With files from Radio-Canada's Philippine Francois-Gascard.
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Summer marks patio season for restaurants like The Lobby Kitchen & Bar in Regina but wasps are cutting the season short for customers hoping to enjoy a meal outside.
"They're really rampant on the patio," says Rylynn Kohli, a server at the restaurant. "They're really frustrating and have been stinging people quite a bit too."
Kohli says customers who wish to sit on the patio are often disappointed once the wasps begin to circle around their tables and food. Because of this they almost immediately request to be seated inside.
She says the restaurant has laid four traps to help put an end to the patio pests but that hasn't led to the outcome they hoped. Kohli says the wasps are still a nuisance for customers.
"We do catch like three or four, but there's just so many," she said.
The Malty National in Regina is also beginning to feel the sting.
"We've had a lot of wasps in the last two weeks, they just decided to come out, so they've been buzzing around everybody here on the patio," says co-owner Adam Smith.
Smith says usually wasps come out later in the summer but this year he's had to deal with them much sooner than he'd hoped.
He says his restaurant has been trapping the wasps by filling up traps with beer so that the insects will be enticed by them instead of guests' food and drinks. He says they're catching "hundreds if not thousands every week" because of the traps.
Pest-busters noticing wasp uptick
Companies like All-Pro Pest Control are being asked to come to the rescue and are feeling the urgency.
"It's only going to get worse as the year goes on as the colonies get larger and larger," says owner-operator Mathew Gelowitz
He says by this time of the year wasp queens have laid their larvae for all of the workers, which increases their colonies and as a result causes an uptick in wasps — and calls to his phone.
Gelowitz says he receives around 10-15 calls a day from desperate businesses and homeowners trying to rid the insects from their properties.
He says he's noticing more calls this summer than in previous years, attributing the increase to the warmer temperatures the province experienced this past winter.
"Generally sometimes if the winters are really harsh a lot of those queens can end up dying, but because it was a warmer winter that's the reason why it's a little bit more this year," he said.
As for their aggression, entomologists say this is typically expected toward the end of the year.
"The workers start having less to do and what happens then is they become a little more aggressive, or at least that's the theory, so they start bothering people," says Sean Prager, associate professor in the department of plant sciences at the University of Saskatchewan.
Prager says wasps also start becoming more desperate for food, especially once there are fewer plants around. Because of this they often start going after food on people's plates.
While traps at restaurants like the Malty National can work to help reduce the amount of wasps, Gelowitz says eating indoors for the time being is a good prevention measure.
With files from Radio-Canada's Philippine Francois-Gascard.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR