What’s Bugging You This Fall? Meet Alabama’s Most Active Autumn Bugs
Like anything in nature, the changing seasons affect pests and their behaviors. Certain groups of pests like to make their way into your home as the fall season approaches. Here’s the autumn bugs to look for here in Alabama and what to do if they start bugging you.
Pests During Autumn—What Changes?
While spring and summer might seem like the worst times of the year for pest problems, autumn presents unique pest challenges. Despite the fact that most “bugs” (small arthropods such as insects, arachnids, land-dwelling crustaceans, myriapods, etc.) reproduce and remain active during the warmer months, you might notice more pests in your home during the fall.
When temperatures drop, most creatures (including people) evade them by heading inside where it’s warm and precipitation-free. You might see more spiders and insects inside your home. Rodents like rats and mice also look for a place to lay low for the winter, and unfortunately, your house has everything they’re looking for: shelter, warmth, and food.
Before autumn rolls around, we recommend sending one of our pest experts to prepare for the autumn bugs and rodents that might attempt to make their way in. At Vulcan Termite & Pest Control Inc., we tackle big and small pest problems with our custom services.
Autumn Bugs to Lookout For
As it gets cold outside, many pests like mosquitoes start to disappear, but troublesome autumn bugs quickly replace them! Here are a few fall-time bugs to look out for:
Multicolored Asian Lady Beetles
Asian lady beetles are beneficial outdoors because they feed on pests like aphids that destroy your backyard garden. However, they typically migrate indoors in masses, emitting a foul odor and yellow-staining fluid before dying. As if that wouldn’t be a dead giveaway, they have black spots on their wings and a black M-shape on their cream colored pronotum (midsection).
Kudzu Bugs
Kudzu bugs are stink bugs that are olive green in color. They like to enter households through cracks and crevices, although they typically migrate under plant debris or tree bark when the weather is forgiving. Like other autumn bugs, they go into survival mode by any means necessary. They’ll break into your home, bring friends along, and leave behind nasty odors.
Asian Cockroaches
Not only can Asian cockroaches crawl indoors through window openings or cracked doorways, but they can also fly right past you! They appear similar to German cockroaches, but what sets them apart is their ability to fly.
Keep Your Home Pest-Free this Autumn
Keeping annoying (and sometimes harmful) pests out of your home is all about prevention. In Alabama, that’s a year-round job!
Our Vulcan Termite technicians offer integrative pest management solutions for every kind of autumn bug. Contact us online or call today for expert pest control this fall!