Warm Winter Does Not Equal More Pests – Just More Infestations

Looks can be deceiving. At least this is the case with the correlated increase in pest infestations and warm winter weather. It is logical to assume that more pest problems within residential neighborhoods and business districts are caused by an increase in pest populations – this is not the case.

Without the presence of frigid temperatures or freezes, pests will burrow closer to the surface of the ground and become active earlier in the year. Therefore, more bugs may be visible but it is not necessarily a population factor.

Pests you can expect to notice more of include: termites, ants, fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, and flies. Take precautions with fleas in your yards. Your pets can easily become a host for fleas while out in yard. Inspect your pet regularly for ticks and fleas. American and Oriental Cockroaches are other pests to expect this spring season.

While it may seem like common knowledge or a redundancy to inform resident and businesses on protecting your homes and structures from pests during the spring, we can not stress enough the importance of establishing ritualistic pest prevention habits to reduce the risk of infestations.

It is interesting to know that many of the pests we are shielding our homes from have did not always exist on U.S. soil.

North America was first exposed to foreign pests when early European settlers came abroad on ships carrying a variety of insects. The vegetation of our continent was ideal for many of the bugs that came across with the settlers, allowing for sustainability and growth.

In fact, the habits of these foreign insects reduced the population of native plants and animals. Now, over 450 foreign insects have invaded U.S. territory over the past four centuries, resulting in periodic changes in our continent’s forest. However, only 18 of those accounted pests came to the U.S. from 1635 to 1859. The rest arrived between 1860 to 2007 as a result of increased global trade and modern air travel.

Today, it is encouraged to never transport firewood far from its origin since destructive pests hidden with logs can be exposed to sensitive areas. Agricultural devastations can easily occur from innocent actions like transporting firewood from other regions. Pests like emerald ash borers can jeopardize forest economies and our treasured national and state parks.