The importance of year round pest treatments; yes, even during the winter months.
At the end of every fall without fail, you may notice a mass exodus of various bugs and insects. But they aren’t dying off or migrating south for the winter, they’re actually secretly invading areas of your yard and home. They’re setting up shop under each panel of siding, under each shingle of roof and often times right inside your walls. And sometimes, they find their way inside your home.
Waiting on the porch railing is a stink bug. It knows your schedule. It knows you leave at 6:45 each morning and that, on the way to your car, you trip over that one path stone that sticks up just slightly higher than the rest. It knows when you come home, the sound your wheels make as you drive under the pine tree that sheds its needles in only your drive way.
The door to your car closes itself as you swiftly exit. You hop over that stone in the path and skip up your porch, excited that you’re finally home after a long day at work. You whip open the storm door and hold it with your foot as you unlock your door. The stink bug listens to the sound of the clicking tumbler as you turn the key. You open the door and shimmy your way in, say hi to the kitties and shout for the missus “I’m home!”
As the storm door closes behind you and you swing the door shut, the wind picks up just right sending a woosh of fall air inside, and as you twirl with the momentum of a day not coming to an end but just beginning: the stink bug takes flight with a flutter of it’s wings. It expertly tumbles through the air and that same wind that snuck inside just moments ago now propels the shuttle of stink. In an instant and with crude precision, the stink bug glides through the closing gap of doors and successfully plunges into the safety of your home.
INSIDE AWAITS A BUG PARADISE, PRIME FOR THE SAFETY AND CONTINUITY OF THE SPECIES. IT’S WARM, IT’S COZY, THERE’S PLENTY OF SUSTENANCE.”IT’S ABSOLUTELY PERFECT” THINKS THE BUG.
When winter approaches, bugs don’t die off or simply disappear, they ‘over-winter’. Over-wintering is a sort of bug hibernation. Insects and bugs will find warm shelters within walls, structures, or logs and simply shut down, but they will reemerge in the spring. This is how many species, such as stinkbugs, are able to sustain life season, after season, after season. Some bugs will sneak into a warm home and either seasonally shut down, or in some cases, flourish on the inside. The good news about stinkbugs, though, which so many homeowners worry about, is they do not breed inside the home. They are there just to pass the time, just to make it into spring.
While the outside is dismal and dreary, blustery and lifeless, the inside is a veritable spring metropolis that every bug dreams about. Spring all year round! Your home is literally like a tropical vacation for any insect. That’s why it can be important for many homeowners to continue pest management through the fall and winter seasons. A more consistent treatment plan lessens bug and insect populations over time, and you won’t have to worry about the creepy crawlies getting into your home as much. During winter months professional pest control companies will also do interior treatments to kill insects that are thriving in the warmth of your home.
PROFESSIONAL PEST CONTROL MAY BE THE WAY TO GO, BUT IF YOU LIKE TO DO IT YOURSELF HERE ARE SOME TIPS AND TRICKS TO DETER BUGS FROM ENTERING YOUR HOME.
Make sure your windows and doors are properly screened in and sealed. Screens should be replaced every five years or so before they become brittle and start breaking. Bugs don’t need that big of a hole to squeeze through, so do a thorough check around your home. The caulking around your windows and doors can be a quick and easy fix as well, so if during your inspection you see the slightest crack or gap, seal it.
Door sweeps can be extremely effective against unsightly gaps, drafts as well as bugs. Occasionally the doors around your home don’t meet the floor, and for that Lowe’s makes door sweeps.
Cleaning your home regularly is maybe the best thing you can do to discourage any unwanted creatures from entering or living in your home. Regular vacuuming, sweeping and mopping will remove dust, dirt and forming webs, encouraging spiders and other bugs to hunker down elsewhere. The removal of riffraff from the floor and counters will eliminate premium shelter spots and save you from quite the fright when you pick up those dirty drawers and a spider jumps out. Kitchens are especially important to maintain because of the presence of food particles and moisture.
Food is the number one attractant to all creatures and your home just happens to be filled with it. Be sure to clean after each meal, wipe down the counters and five-second rule any food that has fallen on the ground. If you have family pets, make sure you clean after each of their meals as well. If there is no sustenance, the shelter is not worth it.
Be sure to repair leaky pipes and appliances. Water counts as sustenance and water is a huge attraction to every creature on the planet. Maintain your living quarters and your home will stay yours.