Springtime Pests
When the weather changes to warmer temperatures, you’ll start to see more life around you—from flowers blooming to more people staying outside. However, besides the greenery and jolliness around, you’ll also start to notice more pests popping up, either in your yard or in your home. So, since temperatures this week are supposed to rise, here’s a few pests to keep an eye out for during this springtime season.
Flowers blooming and warmer weather brings one of the most friendliest pest you can have: bees. Bees, despite what their street reputation may have you believe, do not want to sting you; they only do so as a means of protection. If you see bees flying around your home or garden, don’t think twice, as they are just simply looking for flowers to pollinate, which is great for nature. On the other hand, a certain type of bee called the carpenter bee, which is much larger than the regular honey bee, will fly around looking for wood that it can burrow into. These guys will drill holes into your wood deck, foundation, or furnishings if given the chance, so you need to look out for them.
Warmer temperatures will also bring out the ant from spending its winter underground. As soon as it is warm enough for them, ants will come out of their colony in search of food. To them, anything is game, even those crumbs that you forgot to sweep up on your kitchen floor. Unless your home is pest-proof (by making sure none of the weathering is stripped, holes are plugged, screens are installed, etc), there is a good chance an army of ants can make their way inside, and set up an outpost right in your kitchen.
Another many-legged friend that wants to see the sights of spring is the spider. During the winter, spiders either scurry inside, or they lay low outside, waiting until the weather turns. Like the ant, they will be looking for food once they believe it is warm enough, and may think that your home is the ideal hunting ground. Do yourself a favor, and stop the arachnids from entering your home before they think about it.
Springtime brings many things back to the forefront, even pests. However, the best method of pest-control is prevention, and by extension, education. The more you know, the better informed you are, the more able you will be to take on the toughest spring pests. The great pest-awakening is coming, will you be ready?
