Spring Cleaning – Prevent Pests Inside

A woman spring cleaning windows for pest prevention.

After a cold and snowy winter, all of Michigan celebrates the arrival of spring. Here in the lower peninsula of Michigan, springtime is one of the most beautiful times of the year. The Crocuses, Daffodils and Tulips are starting to peek up out of the earth, soon to show their brilliant colors. Along with routine spring cleaning, focus on the areas below to prevent pests from getting inside. Griffin Pest is committed to bringing our community prevention tips to keep pests away before they ever become a problem. For information on pests that are common in our area, look at our Pest Identification Library.

Pests Inside

  • Kitchen – Prevent ants and cockroaches by cleaning your kitchen surfaces regularly, as well as appliances such as toasters and grills. Clean out your pantries, an unkempt pantry is like a buffet line. Clean your fridge, and cabinets by removing expired and unwanted items. Scrub your drawers with bleach or kitchen cleaner, and afterward, sweep and mop your floor. Even random crumbs can be enough to create the need for pest control.
  • Bathroom – Moisture in your bathrooms can attract cockroaches and silverfish.  Regularly wash shower curtains, dry bathroom surfaces, and clean out drawers and cabinets. Pests may enter through window sills, and drains. Check screens and any gaps around window sills. Pour bleach down drains as pests may come up your drains. Check pipes under the sink for any leaks, as water attracts pests. 
  • Basement – In your basement insects thrive in the dark, and out of sight. The dark allows them to avoid predators when they search for food, which is often at night. They hide in crevices, which is why they are less likely to be seen until it’s too late – especially in an unfinished basement. 
  • Declutter – Remove clutter inside your home, basement, garage and sheds. Storage spaces are ideal for spiders, cockroaches and rodents as they are often dark and filled with lots of clutter. These conditions are perfect for breeding and hiding.

Pests Outside

  • Home Exterior –  Look for cracks and holes in the foundation or openings around windows. Ant problems can usually be traced to tiny fissures around windows. Remember, insects must enter your home before they can pose a real pest control problem. Ants are especially diligent about locating new entry points. Seal any cracks you find and repair or replace screens in windows. By eliminating any openings in your home’s periphery, you’re taking the first step in pest control. 
  • Trash Cans – Trash cans are an area that commonly hold food and will act as a magnet for pests. The trash can is a common weak point in pest prevention and control. Store your cans away from the house if possible. Ensure your trash cans have a tight-fitting lid and are lined with trash bags.
  • Firewood – Store firewood away from your home and off the ground, if possible. Piles of firewood are attractive to pests such as termites. A stack of firewood acts as both shelter and a food supply. To keep pulp-eating pests out of your home, move your firewood pile away from any buildings. 
  • Garden Maintenance – Try reducing pests from entering your home by placing plants away from your home’s structure. Many residential pests are fully capable of surviving in nature as well as inside your home. Maintaining a clear, plant-free zone around your home is an excellent habit for pest prevention and control.
  • Remove Water Sources – Removing water sources will have a great reward in the reduction of mosquito breeding. People often ask how they can get rid of the mosquitoes that are in their yards, patio, or area around their homes. The ideal approach for controlling mosquitoes is to never let the population explode in the first place. You can do this by making your entire yard less attractive to mosquitoes.
    • Be sure to eliminate (or treat) any of these breeding grounds in your yard. 
    • Lawn or yard ornaments with standing water features
    • Buckets that accumulate rainwater or runoff
    • Puddles
    • Landscape ponds
    • Bird baths
    • Ruts that hold standing water
    • Clogged gutters and downspouts
    • Plant bowls saucers
    • Other items that can collect rainwater or runoff – such as a wheelbarrow that is not turned upside down

Spring Pest Prevention and Control

If you have or suspect a pest problem or would like to know more about protecting your home and yards, call our team of experts at Griffin Pest Solutions. Our team is innovative, reliable, and ready to meet you and your property in whatever you might need. Above all, Griffin Pest Solutions has 90 years of experience. Call us today for your free quote!

Boxelder Bugs in Spring

Boxelder bugs in spring

When is it not boxelder season? It seems like these gross red-and-black bugs are everywhere, all the time. Around this time of year, however, you may notice they’re around even more than usual. Boxelders wake up and start moving around starting in early spring. Unfortunately, they often wake up and start moving around in your home.

But why are boxelders around your home so much this spring? Where are they coming from? What do they want? Most importantly, how can you get them to go away? Here’s everything you need to know about boxelder bugs in spring.

What they are

What boxelders bugs areEven if you don’t know boxelder bugs by name, you almost certainly know them by sight. These bugs are extremely common in the fall and spring, when they swarm around windows, porches, and door frames. Boxelder bugs are a type of “true bug” in the Hemiptera order, similar to stink bugs. Like stink bugs, they can also release a foul-smelling scent if threatened or crushed. Despite these similarities, however, boxelder bugs are not considered stink bugs.

Boxelder bugs have .5 inch long black bodies with distinctive bright red or orange ‘X’-shaped markings on their backs. They tend to congregate on warm, heat-reflecting surfaces such as windows or porches in large groups. Boxelder bugs feed almost exclusively on the flowers, leaves, and seeds of boxelder trees. These bugs enter reproductive season in mid-spring or early summer, shortly after re-emerging from winter hiding places. Homes with southern or western exposure might be particularly attractive to boxelder bugs.

Why they’re back

why boxelders return in springLike stink bugs, boxelder bugs never really leave Michigan. Instead, they overwinter in hidden, secluded places where they can survive the cold. Boxelders survive winter temperatures by bunching together and squeezing into tight nooks and crannies. They seek out warm, dark places where they can remain unnoticed and dormant for months at a time. Unlike stink bugs, they don’t fully enter diapause. During warm enough winter days, boxelders may temporarily re-emerge.

Boxelder bugs re-emerge from their winter hiding places as soon as they can survive outdoor temperatures. In other words, the boxelders you find in your home in spring were probably there all winter. Boxelders are very temperature-sensitive and crave warmth, so they’re commonly found around sunny windows and reflective surfaces. The bugs congregate in large swarms in order to keep one another warm and exchange information via pheromones. These swarms may sometimes get trapped or lost inside homes as they try to find their way out.  

What they want

what boxelder bugs wantWhen boxelder bugs re-emerge from the overwintering sites, their top priority is food. Remaining inactive for long periods is very taxing to boxelder bugs, so they need to recharge quickly. During this period, adult boxelders are usually encountered on the ground, where they eat low vegetation and fallen seeds. Boxelders seek out female acer trees for their plentiful fallen seeds and flowers. Boxelders don’t begin mating until they’ve acquired enough energy from feeding, which can take weeks.

Once boxelder bugs find their way outside and acquire sufficient energy, they usually move to a nearby acer tree outside. From there, they lay eggs, eat, and prepare to begin the whole cycle again. Like stink bugs, boxelder bugs do not eat, mate, or reproduce indoors. They only enter buildings in order to stay warm, and they’re only interested in leaving come spring. Boxelders aren’t dangerous, but their stench and sheer number can make them a serious nuisance.

What you can do

what you can do to prevent boxelder bugsThe most important thing to remember about boxelders control is that when they die, their bodies attract other pests. Don’t kill the boxelders you encounter in your home, especially if they’re in your walls. Instead, vacuum or sweep up the boxelders you encounter and dispose of them outdoors. You could also use soapy water to kill the boxelders, as long as you remove the bodies after they die. Scrub down any areas where boxelders congregated with soapy water, too.

After you’ve cleared out the existing boxelders, you have some time to make sure they don’t come back. Boxelders won’t try getting back into your home until early fall, when they need to overwinter again. Before this happens, try to find and seal off the ways they get in. Boxelders usually find cracks and crevices near window sills, door frames, and baseboards. Use caulk to re-seal these openings, and you should be able to keep boxelders from getting in next season.

 

Don’t beat yourself up for having boxelders in your home this spring. Those little pests are as tricky and resourceful as they are smelly. There’s a reason there are so many of them.

If you need a little help beating back your black-and-red nemesis, don’t hesitate to give Griffin a call today. We can drive the bugs out, seal up your home, and make sure you get back to enjoying your spring.

Pests That Wake Up in Spring

Pests that wake up in spring

The whole world seems to come back to life in spring. Unfortunately, “the whole world” includes some things we wish would stay sleeping. Along with grass, flowers, trees, and birds, a whole host of Michigan’s most annoying pests wake up every spring.

When pests wake up in spring, they’re usually hungry, thirsty, and ready to find mates. To make up for their long winters off, they tend to pursue these activities ferociously. Their single-minded pursuits make pest problems all-too-common this time every year. Here are the pests you’re bound to run into this spring, what they’re up to, and the problems they cause.

Boxelder bugs

boxelder bugsStarting in early fall, boxelder bugs go looking for dry, warm places where they can wait out the winter. Unfortunately, those dry, warm places often include our homes. When spring comes around, boxelders become active again to seek their newly rejuvenated food sources and, eventually, to reproduce. When that happens, they vacate their winter hideaways en masse. If they were hanging out in your home over winter, you’re going to run into them again this spring.

Boxelder bugs are obviously a nuisance, but luckily they’re not a dangerous one. These pests don’t bite, spread disease, eat fabrics or stored foods, or lay eggs indoors. Instead, they simply vacate the premises to seek the seeds and flowers of acer trees like the boxelder. The nuisance part comes from how many of the gross bugs you may notice vacating. Boxelder excretions and feces may also stain window ledges and other favored areas.

Stink bugs

stink bugsStink bugs follow a similar seasonal routine to boxelder bugs, and they’re around for the same reasons. During fall, they desperately seek out any warm place where they can wait out the winter. Once they’re in position, they go dormant until outdoor temperatures rise back up to survivable temperatures. Once that happens, they wake up with one thing on their mind: mating. In their mad scramble to get back outdoors, however, they tend to get lost… or stuck.

Like boxelder bugs, stink bugs don’t reproduce or nest indoors, cause disease, or bite. They do… stink, however. When threatened or crushed, stink bugs secrete a foul-smelling substance from a special scent gland. This scent smells like rotten vegetables or coriander. The more stink bugs secrete at once, the more powerful the stench. These secretions can also leave behind a dark yellow stain on carpets, furniture, or window sills.

Carpenter ants

carpenter antsDuring spring, the infamous wood-infesters come marching in to build their nests and search for water. Carpenter ant invasions tend to be the most noticeable during the start of the season. Starting in mid spring, the reproductive carpenter ant castes swarm in order to seek mates and start new colonies. After mating, queen ants seek good places to lay their eggs. These eggs hatch into workers, and the infestation begins in earnest.

Carpenter ants are a problem because they make their colony nesting grounds by boring through wood. The tunnels they carve compromise the structural integrity of wood products. Carpenter ants don’t actually eat the wood they infest. Instead, they have to hunt for sources of protein and sugar. You may find foragers in your kitchen, basement, or garden. Keep a close eye out for swarmers, in particular. If these flying ants get trapped in your home, chances are their nest is also inside your home.

Pavement ants

pavement antsUnfortunately, carpenter ants aren’t the only ants reproducing and foraging in the spring and summer. In late spring, the brief but very active pavement ant mating season begins. During this time, you may notice swarms of larger-than-average, reddish-black ants flying in large clusters. After mating, pavement ants lay eggs in tight crevices (hence their association with pavement, and the cracks in it). When young pavement ants emerge, they start looking for food almost immediately.

Pavement ants are most often encountered in groups in your kitchen. They break down and carry off all sorts of stored food, especially grains and sugars. When they find food, they tend to stick around. It’s not uncommon to find ants infesting cabinets, pantries, cupboards, and anywhere else they could find food. They’ll attack any scraps they can get their mandibles on. Unlike other pests on this list, they can stay active as long as they’re warm and they have food.

 

Spring should be a wonderful, refreshing time of year–especially after a brutal Michigan winter. Don’t let pests ruin that for you. If you need some help fighting back an infestation so you can enjoy the nice parts of spring again, give Griffin a call. We can deal with the dirty work so you can enjoy the rest.

Rainy Day Pests to Watch Out For

Rainy day pests to look out for

Rain is a welcome change of pace in spring time, especially since it helps push away the winter grey. As you might expect of any meteorological change, however, rain can also be disruptive. Spring is a already a transitional time of year. Flora and fauna are struggling to adapt to the changing season. When rain disrupts this process, it can create some awkward circumstances.

The most unwelcome of these awkward circumstances would have to be the pests. When rain disrupts their behavior, all kinds of pests may end up in places where they wouldn’t normally be. Places like your home. Here’s what to expect from pests after a long rain, why, and how to react.

Cockroaches

cockroachCockroaches need moisture and humidity to stay alive, so they’re naturally attracted to moist and humid places. The problem is, the moist and humid places where they naturally congregate also tend to be vulnerable to flooding. Millions of cockroaches live in sewers, gutters, or drain pipes. When we get heavy rainfall in the spring, these places flood. Flooding forces cockroaches out of their homes and into new places – like your home!

After periods of heavy rain, it’s common to find cockroaches in your kitchen, bathroom, or basement. These roaches are probably flooding refugees that snuck up your drains or through cracks in sills or frames. Once inside, roaches look for food, shelter, and moisture. They love to squeeze under tight hiding places like boxes and furniture, where they can hide until night time. Unfortunately, once cockroaches get inside, they’re in no hurry to leave. They’ll stick around as long as they have access to food and shelter.

Snakes

snakeSnakes tend to come out after rain for several reasons. First, most snakes naturally live close to water. When rainfall floods the banks of rivers and streams, the snakes are forced to seek higher (and drier) ground. Snakes also have to come out after rain to warm back up. As cold-blooded reptiles, snakes rely on sunlight to keep their internal body temperatures up. After days of clouds and rain, snakes get desperate to get warm.

Particularly severe rainy conditions may even force snakes into your home. As dry shelter becomes less and less available, snakes have to get creative if they want to survive. They’ll twist and contort themselves to fit through small cracks and crevices to enter basements and attics. They may even follow other pest-refugees while they’re hunting and stumble into your home inadvertently. Unlike cockroaches, snakes don’t typically stick around after the rain stops, but you might find them in your yard nearby.  

Spiders

spiderFor most pests, heavy rainfall is a nuisance. While it can be a nuisance for spiders, too, it can also be an opportunity. The busiest insect hunters in the world aren’t about to stop their grind for a little rain. After all, the itsy bitsy spider wins out in the end, even in the nursery rhyme. They go where their prey goes, no matter what. That means, when it rains, they’ll follow their prey into your home.

Spiders want to build their webs wherever they think they can catch prey. They’ll find the places where other pests get into your home – window sills, baseboard cracks, etc. – and set up shop there. Often times, spiders already living nearby during rain will move inside to follow prospective prey. Other times, their homes will get wiped out by flooding, just like their prey. Either way, expect to see more spider activity when it rains.

Termites

TermitesEveryone knows termites eat wood. What fewer people know is, ironically, termites are more attracted to moisture than they are to wood. When you think about it, it makes sense: eating wood has to be thirsty work. Termites need moisture to survive, just like everything else. If they get too dried out while they’re munching away at wood, they’ll die. Termites prefer to strike at wet food, so they can keep hydrated while they work.

Obviously, all wood is wet when it’s getting rained on. During rainy periods, termites may seize the opportunity to attack wood sources that are normally dry. The wetter the wood, the easier it is for termites to chew through it. Rain is a great deal for termites–as long as they can survive it. Just like other pests, termites can easily drown in flooding. They may also target wood that lets them avoid this danger.

 

We know this is probably kind of a bummer. You were just looking forward to being done with winter, and now you have all this to worry about? Maybe April really is the cruelest month! Well, the good new is you don’t have to deal with it alone.

Give Griffin Pest Solutions a call any time you’re worried about a pest infestation. We can make sure your home stay pest-proof this spring and beyond. Rain or shine, Griffin has your back.

Why Do Boxelder Bugs Come Back in Spring?

Boxelder Bug swarm on wood

Starting in early spring, boxelders re-emerge from their overwintering sites to feed and mate. The bugs re-appear so quickly every spring because they often find their overwintering sites around homes and neighborhoods. Adult boxelders begin reproducing immediately after they wake up from winter dormancy, triggering population growth all season long.

Although “boxelder season” is generally considered to be fall, you may find boxelders are equally prevalent in spring. You probably find them a little too prevalent. Unfortunately, if you have boxelders in spring, you’ll probably have them in fall… and next spring. Fortunately, you don’t have to have them in either season! By learning about why boxelders come out in spring, you can learn to keep them away from your home for good. Here’s what you should know about the other boxelder season, and what you can do about it:

boxelder bug

Why They’re Back

Technically, it would be more accurate to say they never left! During the winter, boxelder bugs sneak into the nooks and crannies of homes, where they can stay safe and warm while they hibernate. Unfortunately, boxelders are great at getting into walls, attics, basements, crawl spaces, or floorboards. Once inside, boxelders hunker down in out-of-the-way places and stay there all winter. They’re so quiet and un-intrusive, you may forget they’re there!

Unfortunately, even if you forget about them, the boxelders are still there. In spring, boxelders wake up waiting two things: food and… uh… companionship. Boxelders mate in early spring, so their offspring will be ready to survive when next winter rolls around. Thing is, boxelder bugs have to get busy to… get busy, which means they come out in force looking for places to eat and court mates. Honestly, their spring behavior isn’t all that different from ours.

Boxelder bugs entering home through a gap

Where They’re Coming From

(Cue the horror movie music) The bugs are coming from inside the house! Any adult boxelder bugs you see this spring hibernated through the winter. Unfortunately, if you see some boxelders hanging around your place, it’s probably because they spent all winter squatting. Don’t feel bad about it–it’s more common than you’d think.

Boxelder bugs exploit even the tiniest breaches in a home’s defenses. They’ll crawl through floor cracks, squeeze through insulation, or creep under gaps in a window frame. Look in dark, warm, humid, hidden spaces. You might find them under boxes, in walls or insulation, near corners, or on window frames. 

Boxelder tree seeds

What They’re Looking For

Like we said above, when boxelders wake up they’re looking for food and mates. They’re interested in food first (priorities). Boxelder bugs got their name from their affinity for boxelder trees and other trees in the acer family, but they’re not picky. They’ll will eat just about anything, especially in early spring when they’re at their hungriest. They cling to trees, leaves, developing seedlings, or low vegetation.

After mating, boxelders want to find a place to lay eggs. The best places to lay eggs are places where the newly hatched offspring will have a plentiful food source readily available. Acer trees like boxelder, ash, and maple trees satisfy every one of the boxelder home requirements, which is why they’re so particularly appealing to the lazy little bugs.

A stack of window screens

How We Can Stop Them

It’s tough to stop boxelder bugs in spring, after they’ve already infested your home or surroundings. There are a few ways you could make your yard or building less attractive to them, however. First, perform regular lawn maintenance. Mow your lawn, trim your hedges, make sure branches or leaves don’t touch the home. If you have an acer tree, clear seed droppings regularly. If your problem is really bad, you may consider having the tree removed.

Inside, you could vacuum, sweep, and clean boxelder bug-prone spaces frequently. Vacuum the bugs up directly when you encounter them. Boxelders don’t hatch eggs inside homes, so you don’t have to worry about that. Look for places where they might be getting free food and moisture. Seal up cracks in the floor, insulation, or foundation. Consider replacing window screens annually.

 

Boxelder bugs are annoying and a little distressing, but they’re not dangerous. The best way to keep them away in spring is to keep them away in fall, too. Look for ways they get in and take away the things they want, and you’ll find it’s completely possible to significantly cut down or even eliminate the boxelder presence around your home.

Finally, just remember: if you’ve tried everything and you still can’t seem to deter your red-and-black nemesis, give us a call. We’ve got plenty of experience skirmishing with the vengeful “bug from beneath the basement”, and we’re happy to play your sidekick. Have a happy spring!

Do April Showers Bring Pest Problems?

Tulips in rain

April showers bring May flowers… but unfortunately, that’s not all they bring. As winter finally breaks and the world starts coming back to life, bugs and other pests are waking up, too. Just like everybody else, pests don’t love getting stuck out in the rain. They don’t even get tiny pest-umbrellas (how cute would that be?).

If given the opportunity, roaches, ants, termites, and similar pests will be all too happy to enjoy staying dry inside your home. When the rain starts coming down, pests flock to easy cover so they can stay warm and dry until the sun comes back out. Here are a couple easy things you can do to prevent pests from ruining your rainy day.

Leaves in a gutter

Clear Out Roof and Rain Gutters

Rain and roof gutters direct fallen rain water away from your home, keeping it from building up and causing leaks or structural damage. The problem is, spring tends to generate a lot of natural outdoor debris. If dead leaves, trash, twigs, and other random material gets caught in your gutters, the water that falls into them won’t flow as well.

If too much water builds in your gutters, it can overflow, causing either leaks in your home or a buildup of water and moisture around your house. Runoff and other moisture attracts all kinds of pests, who are looking for a free drink or a place to lay eggs. Mosquitos in particular swarm around puddles and runoff, and they’re the worst. To prevent this possible problem, just clear out your gutters before and after a rain. If you want to make sure they’re working, you can pour a bucket of water into them and see what happens.

Windows rained on in sunlight

Check Door and Window Sealing

Weaterstripping is easy to forget about, but door and window thresholds are probably the #1 way pests get into houses. Even worse, if there are gaps in your window or door sealing, water could leak in through them. Bugs will come by for a quick drink and discover an easy way in.

Inspect your doors and windows’ thresholds closely. If you can see light coming through underneath the door or window sealing, it means there’s a gap there big enough for pests to work their way through. Luckily, replacing weather sealing is a relatively simple and quick project. If you notice a problem afterward, you may want to consider making sure the door or window sits right in its frame.

Puddle on concrete

Watch for Puddles

Puddles can accumulate in a house when it rains for a lot of reasons. You could have leaks in your roof, siding, window frames, or foundation. Sinkholes or soft ground may form in your lawn. You might not have a sump pump.

Whatever the reason, make sure rainwater isn’t collecting in your basement, attic, crawlspace, or anywhere else. Puddles attract pests like crazy. Mop up puddles with soapy water as you encounter them, but make sure you find and fix the source of the problem too. Eventually, puddling can be a significant problem for your home’s structural integrity, so if you keep having this problem consider having a sump pump installed.

Hand wiping condensation off of window

Control Condensation

Rain means humidity, and humidity means condensation. After a long rain or during a particularly muggy day, you may notice your windows start to “sweat” with condensation. It might feel futile, but it’s worth wiping this condensation away as it accumulates. Condensation may not seem like much water, but it’s just enough to keep pests coming back.

Window and pipe condensation is usually a sign that your home is more humid than it should be, which is the #1 thing pests look for in a shelter. Look for drafts, moisture, or any other reasons why your rooms aren’t as dry as they should be. If the problem persists, consider investing in a dehumidifier or getting your HVAC inspected. Not only will managing humidity help keep pests out, it’ll make your home a lot more comfortable too!

 

Pests can put a real damper on your enjoyment of early spring, but they don’t have to! Following a few simple steps like these and taking common sense prevention measures will keep pests out, no matter how desperate they are to escape the rain.

If pests are already raining on your parade, you could also give us a call today. Griffin’s customized pest solutions will help ensure that pests get out and stay out, so you can go back to enjoying your spring.