Cooler nighttime temperatures make us all want to bundle up, especially Asian Lady Beetles and Boxelder Bugs. These fall invaders sneak into homes in the fall, stay the winter and then look to escape back outside in the spring.
September means back to school, the return of cooler weather and the invasion of over-wintering pests. Over-wintering pests are those pesky creatures that move into structures in the fall, camp out and lay dormant all winter, and then emerge with abandon at the first sign of warm weather. The most common over-wintering pests in the upper Midwest include Asian lady beetles, box elder bugs and cluster flies.
Pest control companies receive an influx of calls in the spring when these pests try to exit homes or businesses. The best way to avoid seeing them in the spring though, is to prevent them from entering your home or business in the fall. So, how do you keep over-wintering pests out?
Exclusion. Have you heard the term? Do you know what it means? Well, the golden age of Pesticides is behind us. Pest companies no longer come to your house and douse everything--including your bed--in a heavy coating of pesticides. Though this method was highly effective at killing bugs, it did a pretty good job of making humans sick too. In this modern day, pest control companies rely on a worldwide database of pest information to "exclude" pests from your home. Think of exclusion as a sort of cold shoulder. If we were talking about a human pest, exclusion would come in the form of, perhaps, not answering the door, not returning a phone call, or putting a lock on the door.
They come every fall. You can almost set your watch to them. The insects and wildlife around your home are going to start breaching your walls. Fortunately, there is something you can do about it. Hang with me for a few short minutes, and I'll tell you what critters to expect, and how to deal with them
With the end of summer near, homeowners throughout Milwaukee, Madison and all of Wisconsin should not be surprised see to a number of pests heading indoors in anticipation of colder weather. These pests are box elder bugs, lady bugs and cluster flies and what they are doing is searching for the ideal place in your home to overwinter.
