Why 2022 is the 'year of the wasp' in France
After a mild winter and spring, pest control specialists in France have been receiving more requests to eradicate wasp nests, dubbing 2022 the "year of the wasp".
If you feel like you've been swatting away more pesky insects lately - especially wasps - then you might be onto something.
After a mild winder and even milder spring, there are more wasps than usual buzzing around France. As a result, pest control companies are citing a higher volume of requests to destroy the nests. They are calling 2022 the "year of the wasp".
Some bug exterminators are citing double the number of requests between this year and last year: "This year, we are doing between 10 to 12 interventions a day. Last year, we were at five," Sebastien Pommereul, the manager of the company Stop wasps - Stop pests told BFMTV.
Pommereul presumes that the larger than average normal number of wasps is due to a lack of below freezing cold snaps this past winter.
The warmer weather over winter in France meant fewer wasp colonies were lost to the cold and so meant faster reproduction rates.
As a result, French restaurants are getting creative.
One restaurant owner in France told BFMTV she puts bottles of syrup in the plant pots along her terrace to encourage the insects to buzz over there, in an attempt to keep them from bothering her clients.
However, it is worth nothing that though wasps can be pain, they do play an essential role in the ecosystem.
That being said, if you find yourself with a wasp nest by your house that needs getting rid of, here are some important French terms to know:
Wasp - Guêpe
Bee - Abeille
Hornet - Frelon
Wasp Spray - Aeresol pour guêpes
Exterminator - Exterminateur
Sting - Piqûre
Buzzing - Bourdonnement
Nest - Nid
Comments
See Also
If you feel like you've been swatting away more pesky insects lately - especially wasps - then you might be onto something.
After a mild winder and even milder spring, there are more wasps than usual buzzing around France. As a result, pest control companies are citing a higher volume of requests to destroy the nests. They are calling 2022 the "year of the wasp".
Some bug exterminators are citing double the number of requests between this year and last year: "This year, we are doing between 10 to 12 interventions a day. Last year, we were at five," Sebastien Pommereul, the manager of the company Stop wasps - Stop pests told BFMTV.
Pommereul presumes that the larger than average normal number of wasps is due to a lack of below freezing cold snaps this past winter.
The warmer weather over winter in France meant fewer wasp colonies were lost to the cold and so meant faster reproduction rates.
As a result, French restaurants are getting creative.
One restaurant owner in France told BFMTV she puts bottles of syrup in the plant pots along her terrace to encourage the insects to buzz over there, in an attempt to keep them from bothering her clients.
However, it is worth nothing that though wasps can be pain, they do play an essential role in the ecosystem.
That being said, if you find yourself with a wasp nest by your house that needs getting rid of, here are some important French terms to know:
Wasp - Guêpe
Bee - Abeille
Hornet - Frelon
Wasp Spray - Aeresol pour guêpes
Exterminator - Exterminateur
Sting - Piqûre
Buzzing - Bourdonnement
Nest - Nid
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.