Who doesn’t love wintertime? It’s the time of year where you spend more time inside, enjoying time with your loved ones relaxing and staying as cozy as possible. You get holidays and hot cocoa, vacations and vivacity.
For many homeowners, there is another (slightly less common) thing to look forward to: not having to worry about future or ongoing pest problems. While this isn’t entirely untrue, we’re here to caution you: just because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean that you’re free from the dangers of potential pest infestations. Let us lay it out for you…
So, where do insects and other pests go during the wintertime?
There are a few distinct patterns most pests follow during winter: migration, overwintering, hibernation, or (our least favorite) hiding inside, whatever the cost.
- Most birds, pest birds included, migrate during the wintertime by flying to warmer climes. Migration is great for homeowners because it gets birds out of your hair for a whole season.
- Many varieties of insect, including honeybees and box elders, go through a process called “overwintering”. Creatures that overwinter essentially halt most of the activity within their nervous system to wait out the winter. This can be problematic, because in many cases, these pests try to overwinter somewhere warm and out of the way… like your garage or attic.
- Hibernation is something more commonly attributed to mammals than insects but pests like ladybugs, mosquitoes, and paper wasps will hibernate during winter. They either form cocoons to hide within or go into a long term semi-sleep until the weather warms. Just like overwintering, pests can consider the inside of your home a good place to hibernate.
- Last but not least is “hiding inside, whatever the cost”. Lots of potential pests like this option, including mice, rats, and many variety of cockroach. During the transitionary period between fall and winter, pest problems occur as these pests and more try to get ahead of changing temperatures.
What happens to them when the weather warms up again?
In spring, pests wake up feeling hungry and return to their nearest and dearest source of food. In many cases, this can be your home. This is especially true for creatures like mosquitoes that thrive in moisture-rich climates (melting snow, rain storms, etc).
Birds that previously called your home theirs will migrate back, as well. Long story short, all these potential pests are going to be looking for something, whether it’s a place to hang out, food to eat, or people to bother.
What should I do to protect my home from them?
There are a lot of preventative measures you can take to keep pests from taking up home inside your house during winter. Stay on top of cracks and holes on the outside of your home. Replace any loose mortar or weather stripping you come across. Keep firewood stored far away from your home, so pests don’t see it as an easy way to jump from one warm place to another.
Keep things organized and don’t give any variety of pest an opportunity to hide in the messes that tend to come with holiday frenzy. Make sure your attic, basement, and any crawl spaces are dry and ventilated well to keep things fresh and unappealing to dirty, dust-loving bugs.
Sometimes, even when we make our best effort to keep our home protected and your family safe from pests, they still find a way in. If you’ve done your due diligence and still find yourself facing a problem, don’t worry – just call the experts at Griffin Pest Solutions. We’ll take care of the problem before the spring thaw, guaranteed.
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