Did you know pests are impacted by the weather and other environmental phenomena? That means it’s possible to look at trends and make educated predictions about the following year’s pest problems.
Consider this 2023 pest control forecast your farmer’s almanac for pests. Keep reading to learn what pests you should be concerned about in 2023.
Warm Temps Means More Pests
The milder winters and warmer temperatures we’ve had greatly affect pest populations in several key ways. (This is especially true for insects, who are cold-blooded.)
First, milder, shorter winters result in earlier returns of pest populations.
Most insects survive the winter by seeking refuge underground, where it’s warmer, or entering diapause (a kind of insect “hibernation” during the winter). When the weather warms, it tells sheltering or hibernating insects to emerge. (This is why you see a resurgence of insects in the spring.)
When warmer temperatures come earlier in the year, so do pests.
Second, warmer temperatures lengthen the reproductive seasons of pests. Most pests will continue to reproduce as long as it’s warm—so a shorter winter means more time for pests to grow their populations. This leads to more pests overall.
Finally, warmer temperatures increase the metabolic rates of insects. Not only are there more insects at warmer temperatures, they’re hungrier, too. As a result, you can expect more pests bothering you, destroying your garden, and even chewing up your home.
Milder winters may mean that you can put down your snow shovel earlier, but you’ll need to start pest control earlier, too.
What Pests Should You Watch Out For?
We recommend watching out for signs of all common Cincinnati pests—but there are a few you should keep an extra close eye on.
Populations of these pests are booming, thanks to a combination of factors, from the weather, to changes due to COVID, and more.
Ants
Ants thrive at warmer temperatures. Shorter winters allow them to start reproducing earlier in the year. Plus, they’re more active at warmer temperatures.
This pest can quickly become a nuisance in your home, contaminating your kitchen and pantry. Worse, if the problem is carpenter ants, this pest can chew through your home! (Carpenter ants chew into wood to make their nests.)
This spring, be sure to stay on the lookout for the signs of ants and carpenter ants.
Bed Bugs
We’re seeing a resurgence of bed bugs, now that more people are taking advantage of good weather to travel post-COVID.
Bed bugs congregate whenever people gather, moving from place to place as hitchhikers. Over the past few years, thanks to pandemic lockdowns, people have traveled a lot less. They stayed home much of the time. As a result, bed bugs didn’t have the opportunity to move from one home or business to the next.
Now, however, travel is picking back up. Many have returned to working in person, and most people are back to socializing at friends’ homes and in public places. People are now taking flights, trains, and buses more often.
This means bed bugs are on the move again, and new infestations are popping up. For this reason, it’s a very good idea to stay vigilant for the signs of bed bugs. Make sure you know what they look like, where they hide, and what you should do if you suspect bed bugs.
Mice, Rats & Other Rodents
Like bed bugs, rodents also were affected by COVID. Lockdowns caused people to stay in their homes, abandoning office buildings and most public places. As a result, there was no one around to notice a growing rodent problem. Rodents were given free reign to multiply and wreak havoc!
Rodents also benefit from warmer weather, as it can allow them to extend their breeding season. A longer breeding season equals more rodents—and as you might know, rodents already breed quickly!
That’s why we recommend keeping an eye out for signs of rodents. They can squeeze through the tiniest of spaces to enter your home, so it’s a good idea to do all you can to keep rodents out.
Mosquitoes
Hurricane season (June through November) is fast approaching, and current predictions show at least a dozen hurricanes likely.
What do hurricanes have to do with mosquitoes? A busy hurricane season brings wind and rain to our area of the country. Lots of standing water means an increase in mosquitoes. (Mosquitoes breed in standing water.)
This summer, be sure to eliminate any sources of standing water in your yard, and keep an eye out for a mosquito problem.
Stinging Insects
Stinging insects benefit from shorter winters and warmer weather, since it allows their reproductive season to start earlier. As a result, by summer, you may find your home inundated with wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, and bees.
When it comes to stinging insects, it’s important to know what attracts them to your home, so you can keep them away.
Ticks
Every year, ticks seem to become a bigger and bigger problem.
Ticks thrive in warm temperatures. They can be active even in winter, as long as the temperature is above 40 degrees and there is no snow on the ground. Recent warm winters have allowed tick populations to grow significantly. Some ticks species are even expanding their territory to new states—such as the Lone Star Tick, now found in Massachusetts.
In our area, you should be concerned about ticks anytime you spend time in the great outdoors. This pest can spread serious diseases, including Lyme disease. Make sure you take steps to keep ticks out of your yard, and wear bug spray to protect yourself.
Termites
Like the rest of the pests on this list, termites benefit from milder winters and warmer temperatures.
Warm temps earlier in the year can bring up termite “swarming season,” in which reproductive termites leave their colony to mate and create new colonies.
In addition, warming temperatures over time may eventually cause other termite species to move into our backyard. Formosan termites, currently only a problem in the south, could continue to move north as the weather warms here.
Termites are an enormous problem for any homeowner. This pest can cause thousands of dollars in damage over time. To protect your home, make sure you know the signs of a termite problem.
Need Help with a Pest Problem?
Whatever the pest, ScherZinger Pest Control is here to help.
Contact Scherzinger Pest Control, a trusted pest control company in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky areas, including Dayton, OH, and now Columbus, OH. We’ve been pioneers, engineering new standards for ways of eliminating and controlling bugs and pests. Contact us by phone at 1-877-748-9888 or through our website, Facebook, or Twitter.