Summer Insects

Not to mention the slug invasion, the wet weather has had an impact upon insect activity this season. Insects are a bit like humans in the way they hide from the rain. Ants seek shelter deep down in their snug nests and wasps and bees creep out when it’s safe and dry. Most curious of all is that I haven’t seen a single ladybird or one of the invasive harlequins.

I was beginning to think summer would never arrive and my garden slug infestation would increase to horror story proportions. Two weeks ago after a fortnight of relentless rain I returned home one evening after work to find hundreds of slugs crawling over the lawn, the doorstep and even halfway up the door. Today thank goodness the sun is shining at last which should dry everything out and bring a halt to the Spanish slug invasion.

On Saturday evening ants from one nest (there’s at least three more in my garden) emerged and flew off in the direction of the sun. This was the first fine evening I can remember in months. I bet the house bound ants were desperate to fly the nest.

I haven’t spotted a single wasp so far this month. Wasps don’t like to fly in the rain and huddle together in their nests but if the weather remains dry we could get a surge of wasps late in the summer.

The only insect which has been bothering me this summer has been the occasional black house fly. I’ve noticed the horrible, disease spreading insects head straight for the cat food, probably because it stinks to high heaven. It’s important to keep all food covered because flies like to land on unpleasant things like dog dirt and manure. Flies can transmit a wide range of diseases including salmonella, dysentery, tuberculosis, cholera and parasitic worms.