Over the course of the last few weeks I’ve noticed the odd wasp and lots of bumblebees. My wife noticed another pest that seems to show up every year, albeit in small numbers. She actually saw a lone cankerworm hanging from our tree in the backyard. The City of Regina crews started spraying trees last week. They usually aren’t that big of a problem for us. They’re more of a nuisance.

I do remember one year in particular, about 10 years, ago when the canker worm problem was so bad I couldn’t make it to my vehicle without running into dozens of them. I’d get to work and head straight to the washroom mirror to pull off whatever was able to stick to me during my dash through the gauntlet of hanging canker worms. I’d end up picking them off my head and clothes.

They were hanging from every tree in the neighbourhood. I couldn’t get from my front door to the sidewalk without getting covered. It was gross. When I mowed the lawn I’d put on a hat and something with a collar on it that would keep these things from getting on to my skin and inside my shirt.

When we sat on the deck they’d be hanging down from our large tree in the yard. You couldn’t bat them away quickly enough. You’d get rid of one and suddenly there would be two more hanging there to take it’s place. Thank goodness for the big deck umbrella.

I don’t think the city is expecting big numbers this year, it’s just getting a jump on the situation.

I’m just thankful that the canker worm is not a carnivore. That would certainly open up a whole other can of worms, or in this case, cankerworms.