Seasonal Pests

Seasonal Pest Control Services

• Winter Pest Control – The time to get ahead of the pests that slow down before the spring rush and the best time to tackle the ones that thrive in winter.
  • Ants-most ant species follow the narrative of the Ant and the Grasshopper. Some ants will “wake up” and come exploring spurred by either diminished food supplies or significant shifts (natural or artificial) in temperature.
  • Asian Beetles – well known for overwintering in wall voids, they tend to pop out especially in upper floors when warmed by central heating.
  • Bed Bugs – master hitchhikers and completely adapted to co-living with humans, bed bugs only vary in winter in accordance with changes in travel or other human behaviors. Some of the bed bug relatives such as bat bugs may expand local populations as bats hibernate in attics.
  • Box Elder Bugs – typically aim to overwinter as adults and stay in a state of diapause, but a warm winter sun or a nice blast of cozy furnace air may invite them out into living spaces.
  • Centipedes – outdoor centipedes should be off the radar for the winter months, but indoor centipedes may on rare occasion may stay active especially in warmer and humid basements.
  • Cockroaches – many species of roaches calm down during the winter, but species such as the German and Brown Banded cockroaches will thrive in the winter.
  • Fleas – from increased kenneling and time for pets indoors to rodents carrying them in, fleas can be a winter threat.
  • Rodents – mice and rats are well adapted to living indoors and earning their living by robbing you of food and shelter.
  • Silverfish – diapause is the typical state in winter, but if light, temperature, and humidity levels are ideal for them, they may be active.
  • Spiders – many spiders, especially the wandering hunters may be noticed more frequently in winter as they scout out their next meal.
  • Termites – subterranean termites tend to stay below the frost line in winter but will remain active though hanging out closer to their nests.
  • Ticks – Even when snow covers the ground, ticks that found their way onto hosts from pests to rodents will be able to hitchhike their way into your life.
  • Voles – out of sight under the snow, but should not be out of mind. Voles build elaborate tunnels under the snow wreaking havoc on lawns at a time when it can’t replenish itself.
  • Wasps – females slotted to be queens the next year will find a place to overwinter while the rest starve or freeze to death.
• Fall Pest Control
  • Asian Beetles – when their overwintering mechanism kicks in, they will fly straight until they hit something and then crawl up. They will oftentimes blanket homes especially toward upper levels.
  • Bed Bugs – they don’t care what the weather is like outside, they just want to catch a ride from one indoor space to another that will provide a blood meal.
  • Box Elder Bugs – as temperatures drop at night, box elder bugs look for the next warm up to find a sunny side of a building to sun bathe and huddle together for comfort.
  • Centipedes – temperature pressures will drive them indoors for their own comfort as well as following their prey.
  • Cockroaches – cooler temperatures will diminish exterior based species but indoor roaches will be oblivious to temperature changes as they focus on feeding and mating.
  • Crickets – may push indoors as cooler temperatures start diminishing their populations.
  • Earwigs – with populations peaking and temperatures becoming uncomfortable, fall can be their peak time for indoor appearances.
  • Fleas – active year round, rodents pushing indoors may introduce populations of fleas.
  • Millipedes – after having populations peak, cooler temperatures will make warm indoor temps more appealing.
  • Moles – between new pups exploring their own area to adults and young needing to follow earthworms deeper for the winter, many landscapes are drastically disrupted in the fall.
  • Rodents – Rats and mice that were indoors already stay fat and happy. Those that were based outside will seek ways to take advantage of interior food and shelter.
  • Silverfish – changing temperatures and humidity levels may significantly impact their typical behaviors.
  • Spiders – shifts in light and alterations in the behavior of spider prey will lead spiders into places they were previously scene less.
  • Termites – it outside, they will burrow deeper in the ground. If in the home, fall is termite business as usual.
  • Ticks – Active rodents and larger mammals combine with vegetation overgrowth to increase opportunities for ticks to latch onto hosts.
  • Voles – populations are peaking and voles further establish their feeding territory.
  • Wasps – the larvae that the adults have been rearing are joining the ranks and competing for food. High populations and diminishing food sources combine with temperature threats to make fall the most aggressive time for wasp behavior.
• Summer Pest Control
  • Bed Bugs – hitchhiking opportunities abound with summer travel plans and more frequent visits among friends and families.
  • Centipedes – active indoors and out hunting for food
  • Cockroaches – indoor and outdoor species are in their prime
  • Crickets – perfect temps for nocturnal singing of their mating songs lead to high populations that will spread to garages and basements escaping peak temperatures.
  • Earwigs – the combination of peak debris decomposition and midday temperatures will push earwigs into your territory.
  • Fleas – increased time in dog parks, high wildlife activity, and plenty of rodent activity can all contribute to flea introductions.
  • Japanese Beetle – populations peak in the summer with a primary focus on mating.
  • Millipedes – decomposing organic matter allows for populations to spike. As things dry out, millipedes move toward other food sources.
  • Moles – changes in peak temperatures and decreases in soil moisture content may change the amount of ground that moles have to cover to meat their daily nutrition requirements.
  • Rodents – indoor mice and rats will stay focused indoors within their given range. Outdoor mice have the luxury of food to expand populations.
  • Silverfish – humidity and temperature changes in different parts of the house may contribute to higher breeding rates or higher exodus levels.
  • Spiders – both indoor and outdoor spiders are in their prime feeding seasons
  • Termites – higher temperatures lead to higher breeding, feeding, and swarming.
  • Ticks – a plethora of hosts and plant edging in abundance make summer a prime tick time.
  • Voles – As higher temperatures slow grass growth, vole trails and nests may become more visible.
  • Wasps – summer is all hands on deck for gathering food for the young brood in exchange for sweet nectar exchanges.
• Spring Pest Control
  • Bed Bugs – spring break trips are a big spike in bed bug spreading.
  • Box Elder Bugs – warming temperatures lure the overwintering bugs out of hiding.
  • Centipedes – as prey moves around, the hunting centipedes follow.
  • Cockroaches – indoor roaches continue strong and outdoor roaches start to make their appearances again.
  • Crickets – it takes time to build populations, but nighttime chirp monitoring will indicate population levels.
  • Earwigs – harder to find than in the summer, but old leaf piles and mulch areas will yield greater numbers early on.
  • Fleas – the increase in exterior mammal activity reintroduces fleas to areas where they had been previously absent.
  • Japanese Beetles – late spring emergence of adults threatens plants they love to eat. Earlier spring systemic treatments before the adults appear is the preferred approach.
  • Millipedes – typically not seen until later spring unless
  • Moles – spring is the time to get ahead of moles. Control measures before mating can have a big impact on overall populations.
  • Rodents – Mice and rats will become more active and expand populations as well as stretch to the upper end of their ranges in order to increase mating opportunities as well as explore more bountiful food sources that may have dwindled during winter.
  • Silverfish – spring rain or melts can change humidity and moisture content of different parts of the structure opening them up to silverfish outbreaks.
  • Spiders – spiders that were gone from outside web perches will reclaim their spots. Spiderlings ballooning on the breeze are more frequent. Hunting spiders have more prey to chase.
  • Termites – spring swarms and colony expansions are on full watch throughout the spring and into the summer.
  • Ticks – sometimes starting as soon as February, 1st outside tick sightings indicate a time to start self inspections and control measures. Consider tick nymph size may be as small as a poppyseed.
  • Voles – As spring thaws expose current centers of vole populations, control measures can be adjusted and dialed in to focus in on new outbreaks or expansions.
  • Wasps – Depending on the weather, wasps will start to appear in observable numbers toward the the middle to end of spring. Queens are establishing nests and each brood that hatches and drops out in flight expands the likelihood of wasp encounters.