SUMMER OF THE BUGS
Experts warn of summer bugs boom
Scots will endure an explosion of bugs and creepycrawlies this summer, according to pest control experts.
They are warning the number of wasps, ants, midges and daddy long legs will go through the roof because of the weather.
The mild winter – temperatures were higher than average despite the Beast from the East – and a cool spring has meant that this year’s crop of insects has been late to arrive.
But that meant they were not killed off by late frosts.
Now the current spell of consistently warm temperatures has led to an explosion of insects.
Vanessa Hartley, from Taysidebased Andy Law Pest Control, said: “We are sure that it is going to be a very busy summer for wasps.
“This year had a bad winter with all the snow, but the temperatures weren’t really that low so a lot of queens have survived, though they were quite late in waking up from hibernation due to the chilly spell in early spring.
“We’ve had the loveliest, warm, sunny weather these past few weeks and this has meant that the wasp nests are now developing at some speed, despite being late in starting to be built. The warmer the weather is, the bigger the nest gets and the more wasps it has in it.”
The Sunday Post previously reported there will be a record number of daddy long legs ( crane flies) this summer.
Experts at Scotland’s Rural College ( SRUC) found millions of leather jackets, the larvae of crane fly, which will hatch in June or July.
Davy Mccracken, professor of agricultural ecology at SRUC, who co-authored the study said that “90% will end up as crane flies”.
Professor Mccracken said climate change in the last 20 years had seen the average yearly number of leatherjackets nearly double because of wetter weather and the banning of pesticides in Scotland.
Midges are also causing chaos in Scotland as locals report it to be one of the worst years they have seen.
Dr Alison Blackwell, who runs the Scottish Midge Forecast, said the burst of late hot weather has caused an early outbreak of midges in Scotland.
She said: “There is a high level of midges because there was a delay in them starting and the sudden warm and wet weather conditions has brought them out. The Scottish Highlands are the most affected with places in Ireland and Wales too.”