Spring weather brings a surge of bug activity

AccuWeather

Recent severe weather in the South and Midwest regions of the U.S. has brought a surge of bug activity for the spring season. Flooding, in particular, creates the ideal conditions for mosquitoes.

Transcript

00:00Well, the heavy rains and flooding is really a recipe for mosquito populations getting

00:08large. So this is time to be on alert for mosquitoes. Remember that mosquitoes need

00:15standing water to lay their eggs and for those larvae and the pupae to develop. And so making

00:21sure that you can eliminate standing water as soon as possible is going to be key. But also in the

00:27south, you can't forget about termites because despite the fact that we've had these heavy rains,

00:33termites are still going to be thriving and they do $6.8 billion in damage to homes across the

00:39country every year. There are some regional differences. So when we think about the weather

00:50that's been going on in the northeast, I mean, you know, we expect a warm, wet winter. That's a

00:57double whammy for mosquitoes plus ticks. Remember ticks, the black legged tick is the is the vector

01:04is the carrier for Lyme disease. And this wintry weather that's that's on its way for the northeast

01:11is going to give you a brief respite. But as soon as soon as temperatures get above 50 degrees

01:16Fahrenheit, we're going to see mosquitoes, as well as ticks out in full force.

01:28It is. And you know, insect pests are cold blooded, right? This is something that we learned in

01:34elementary school science class. And so what that means for pests is that warmer temperatures is going

01:40to be an increase in activity, plus a shorter development time, which means faster population

01:48growth. But it's not just insects. It's also pests like rodents, especially in cities. These warmer or

01:57more mild winters are actually resulting in greater survivorship of rats through the winter, meaning

02:05larger populations of rodents in these places.

02:07Yeah, that this is the good news, right? There are ways to protect yourself. And first of all,

02:26you know, partner with a pest control pro, they're going to be able to give you some insight into your

02:30particular property and the threats that are in your region. But you know, as we think about going out

02:36and doing some spring cleanup around the yard, it's important to make sure you're sealing up any

02:42cracks, removing any leaf litter or debris that might be around the structure, that's going to

02:46contribute to ant populations. You're going to want to make sure that you clean the gutters.

02:51The standing water that is in gutters can actually be a place where mosquitoes can breed. And so when

02:58you're thinking about those mosquitoes, remember that any place that standing water can collect,

03:02even, you know, things as small as a bottle cap can provide a place for mosquitoes to lay their eggs

03:09and for those larvae to develop. And remember, if you're out and about, if you're out on a hike or

03:13even an area where you would expect that mosquitoes or ticks are present, make sure that you wear

03:18repellent because these are pests that can transmit human diseases and you don't want to wind up with

03:24West Nile virus or Lyme disease.

Category

Transcript

Recommended