Wasps: A Revisit

Like yesterday's post, today's will be a quick revisit but this time all about wasps.

• Paper wasps are one of the most commonly observed wasps in Canada
• Named for their habit of making paper nests 
• This species is dusty yellow to dark brown or black in colour and have little to no hair
• Paper wasps are generally between 1.9 and 2.5 cm 
• Are slender, with needle-thin waists, they have oval eyes and long antenna
• Like both bald-face hornets and European hornets they have 2 legs that hang visibly when flying
• Paper wasps are considered to be gentle, however if they or their wasps are threatened or disturbed they will become aggressive and can sting repeatedly
• Their nests consist of open hexagonal cells built using paper--which is wood fibers mixed with the wasps' saliva They can collect the wood fiber from various sources such as dead wood, wooden structures and plant stems Their nests hang down horizontally in protect spaces such as attics, eaves or can be found in soil cavities
• A nest will rarely exceed the size of an outstretched hand with populations of  between 15-200

Wasps (and bees and hornets) are not necessarily a pest you want hanging around to closely to your home since many people do have allergies to them. Cottage Country Pest Control can come in and using IPM methods we can help make your environment safer for you and your family.
To book an appointment or for more information email or call us at 705-534-7863.

Bees: A revisit

So I've noticed that a lot of the hits lately on the blog are people looking for information on bees. If you want to read the past posts I've written about bees (or wasps or hornets) you can click here for the first post in the series.

If you just want some quick information then keep reading. I won't cover everything again, because it's already been written, but I will give you some quick information and facts.

• There are over 1000 native species of bees in Canada (honeybee is not a native species)
• Honeybees were originally from Eurasia where they have been a domesticated species for centuries
• All the "wild" honeybees we have in Canada are from colonies that escaped from domesticated hives
• Bees are able to live year-round assuming the colony worked hard enough in the summer
• They are completely adaptable to the Canadian climate
• Honeybees are amber to brown in colour with alternating black stripes
• They are furry (with short hair) and are approximately 1.3 cm
• They eat nectar from flowers and when they sting (which they won't do unless provoked as they are considered gentle) it will kill them
• Honeybees live in large colonies in flat wax-based honeycomb hives that hang vertically

• Bumblebees lived in the wild for thousands of years before people started capturing them in order to domesticate them
• Bumblebees have long tongues which means they are able to pollinate a large variety of flowers.
  In the late 1880's, researchers began to think about using bumblebees to their advantage when it came to agricultural matters
• In Canada, the bumblebee was first used commercially in 1990 as a tomato pollinator
• Throughout the world there are 5 species of bumblebee that are commercially reared, however in North America only 2 are used commercially--the Bombus impatiens and Bombus occidentalis
• Bumblebees are yellow with black stripes and are furry, but with long hair
• They are considerably larger than a honeybee at 2.5 cm
• Like the honeybee they also eat nectar from flowers and if they sting it will kill them
• They too are considered gentle and will not sting unless provoked in someway
• Bumblebees can be found living in the soil in small cavities

Yes, honeybees and bumblebees are beneficial to the environment and agriculturally but that doesn't mean you necessarily want them building hives around your home or cottage. Especially if you or someone in your family is allergic to their stings, so Cottage Country Pest Control can come in and using IPM methods we can help make your environment safer for you and your family.

To book an appointment or for more information email or call us at 705-534-7863. 

Just Add Water Festival and Trade Show

This weekend is the Just Add Water Festival in Honey Harbour. Part of this festival is the trade show at Village Marina.

Cottage Country Pest Control will be there today, so if you are in the area stop by and come find us!

Friday Link Round Up

CBCnews- Marauding polar bear shot by Newfoundland wildlife officers
Scientific American- Rapid Climate Changes Turn North Woods into Moose Graveyard
CBCnews- B.C. 'Frankenfish' report being investigated
CBCnews- Fire ants invading B.C. gardens
CBCnews- Canada's butterfly migration is largest on record
USA Today- U.N. meets to discuss global climate treaty
MSNbc- 'Gaia' scientist James Lovelock: I was 'alarmist' about climate change

Black Widow Spider

Yesterday, I mentioned that it is very rare to see a black widow spider in Ontario. If you know where to look you might be able to find them, but it's rare. But wouldn't you know that just hours after posting the blog, I got a text message that Ross had gotten a call about a black widow spider in Penetanguishene. Ross went out and did his thing and brought the dead spider home and here's the picture that shows the dead spider.

Spider & Sprays: A Revisit

Like yesterday's revisit on carpenter ants, today's post will be a quick revisit of spiders and spider sprays.
Click here to read the last post we did on spiders and spider sprays. Like mentioned before spiders are not actually insects, but instead are classified as arachnids. There are a number of different species of spiders found in Canada such as house spiders, wolf spiders, cellar spiders and fishing spiders.
It is also possible, but very rare to see black widow spiders or brown recluse in Ontario.
Spiders prefer dark areas so will most often be found in the corners of rooms, in closets, dark cracks and crevices, basements, garages, gardens, etc. Yes spiders can be creepy, but they are definitely beneficial to the environment because they will eat other insects and even other spiders.
When laying eggs, the females will lay them in egg sacs with each sac carrying up to several hundred eggs.
Controlling the spider population in and around your home is "easily" done by reducing the number of insects in and around your home. Using IPM is the best way to effectively control spiders (and other pests).
If you have any questions or concerns Call Cottage Country Pest Control at (705)534-7864 or email us at ccpestcontrol@gmail.com to book an appointment--and remember - it's almost always better and CHEAPER to deal with pest control problems when they are small.

Carpenter Ants: A Revisit

Because of the mild winter we had, carpenter ants are back sooner and stronger than ever. We've done posts on carpenter ants before, which you can read here and here, however given the number of people who are having issues with them now, I think it's time for a little revisit. I won't go into as much detail as the previous posts, but hopefully you can find out a bit of information. Carpenter ants are a large species of ants (not just in their numbers but in their actual size). They general range in size from .25 to 1 inch and can be found worldwide. They have two types of nests, however they can have multiple of the second type. The first is their main nest and the second is the satellite nest. The main nest has to be somewhere damp, preferably in a moist and decaying wood source as this is the best location for the eggs and young. A main nest will be located outside, while the satellite nest will usually but not always be found inside a home. This is because it will be drier which is best for the larvae and pupae. The best places to look for a main nest include rotting trees/stumps or decaying landscape timber while the best places to look for a satellite nest inside include wall voids, eaves, ceilings or under insulation such as in attics or crawl spaces and they can also be found in roof gutters and in downspouts. Carpenter ants, while building their nests do not eat the wood but rather tunnel through it, which is why when investigating to see whether or not you have carpenter ants, it's important to look for piles of a sawdust-like material called frass. Controlling and eliminating carpenter ants can be done and the best prevention is to maintain dry conditions, so that they are unable to find moist and decaying wood to nest in. Remember, anyplace that wood comes in contact with soil, could potentially become infested with carpenter ants. The key to controlling any infestation is to find where the queen is laying eggs (the main nest). This will require a thorough inspection and an effort to follow foraging ants back to their nest. It is recommended that if you see 10-12 ants (or more) in your home during the evening then it is worth investigating. If a carpenter ant infestation treated quickly, carpenter ants are rarely responsible for any serious structural damage to houses and buildings. However, these ants could cause serious damage if they continue undiscovered for an extended period. It is advisable to seek professional help in containing a carpenter ant infestations, as incorrect procedures may allow the colony to grow again when surviving members begin to nest again, which is where Cottage Country Pest Control comes in. If you know you have a carpenter ant problem, think you have an infestation or have any pest problems call us at 705-524-7863 or email us at ccpestcontrol@gmail.com today.