It’s April, and your yard is coming to life again. After winter’s frosty embrace, the sun is shining on your daffodils, and a warm breeze tickles your wind chimes. While you welcome the honeysuckle and the orange-breasted robin, you may now have some not-so-welcome visitors – pests and insect mating.

With warmer temperatures, seasonal rains, and insect mating season, spring is when insects begin to reemerge.

Every season has its own particular pests, and regular pest control is the key to preventing infestations. Regardless, if there is one season that is best suited to pest treatment, it is spring.

What bugs are you likely to see in the spring? What spring cleaning measures can you take to prevent infestations? Why is spring the best time to treat for pests? Read on to learn more.

Why Spring Is the Ideal Season for Pest Control

Spring is the ideal time to get your home treated for pests because it is when insects are starting to breed. When you destroy the nest and colony before insects hatch, you’ll have a smaller population to contend with.

As frozen water begins to thaw in the spring, there is more standing water. This water is the ideal place for mosquitoes to take up residence.

Warmer temperatures mean that ants and spiders begin foraging for food. With nice weather, people begin to hike and travel more. Hitchhiking pests like bed bugs and ticks are also more common in this season.

Proactively treating your home and its perimeter in the spring is the best way to ward off the influx of unwanted visitors in the summer.

Springtime Insects

Insects emerge from winter looking for homes, potential mates, and food. Springtime bugs are most focused on rebuilding their populations, so any pest treatment should be focused on interrupting their reproductive cycles.

The most common springtime bugs are:

Stinging insects (including bees, wasps, and hornets): No longer dormant, these insects begin to build their nests and breed.
Mosquitoes: More rain in the spring and the winter thaw creates breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Flies: These insects reach maturity in spring. They gravitate toward humans because they like sweet residue that can be found in living spaces.
Spiders: Spiders search for food in the spring. Their food sources increase because other insects are also more active.
Bed bugs: Although they can be seen throughout the year, bed bugs increase in the spring due to travel and school breaks.
Termites: In an activity known as swarming, termites leave their nests to reproduce. This happens in early spring.
Ants: Ants search for food in warmer weather. The rain moves them out of their colonies as they seek higher ground. Homes provide both of these assets.

Here are the common springtime bugs by region:

Northeast: Centipedes, pillbugs, sow bugs, earwigs, carpenter ants, termites
West: Ground squirrels, house flies, fungus gnats, ants, earwigs, carpenter ants
Midwest: Swarms of termites, cockroaches, carpenter ants, moths, ticks, boxelder bugs
Southwest: Termites, spiders, bed bugs
Southeast: Crazy ants, Caribbean crazy ants, Argentine ants, Palmetto bugs, subterranean termites, fire ants

How to Deter Pests

As you perform your spring cleaning, there are many measures you can take to prevent insects from swarming the interior and exterior of your home.

Not only do these tasks give your family a healthier living environment, but they also make it harder for insects to obtain food and shelter.

Kitchen

Ants, beetles, and meal moths love the kitchen because they have access to food and water. The following cleaning tasks make this area less attractive to ants.

Toss out expired spices and old flour, which are food for pests
Wipe down the insides of cabinets and apply new shelf paper
Clean and vacuum behind kitchen appliances
Scrub the counter and floor with warm water and dish soap

Bathroom

The bathroom is appealing to pests like silverfish and cockroaches that are in search of water. Getting rid of moisture is beneficial because these insects cannot survive past a week without water.

Wipe down the insides of cabinets
Clean the shower curtain and liner
Address leaking pipes or faucets

Basement

The basement usually has clutter and dark spaces that are home to rodents and spiders. Spring cleaning should be concerned with destroying habitats for these pests.

Throw away unnecessary items, and only use plastic bins to store things (Cardboard can serve as a food source).
Seal cracks and crevices with a silicone-derived caulk

Attic

The attic can have many entry points for insects. Like the basement, it has plenty of dark spaces that appeal to critters.

Eliminate moisture by installing a dehumidifier and sealing leaky pipes
Keep rugs and carpets clean
Reduce entry points by sealing cracks with caulk and repairing broken windows

Outdoor Spaces

The outside of your home can provide entry-points and food for insects. Performing proper maintenance on a few key locations can reduce the chance that bugs will enter.

Repair fascia and rotted shingles, as insects like to feed on these
Clean out gutters and downspouts
Repair torn window screens, loose weather-stripping, and loose mortar around the foundation and windows
Trim bushes and branches
Remove rotted tree stumps and keep mulch 15 feet from the foundation
Keep outdoor trash bans tightly closed
Maintain your yard by removing debris, dead leaves, dead wood, and thick overgrowth

We Can Help

Only a professional knows the best way to target and remove springtime insects. At Pointe Pest Control, we use a green approach that sets us apart from the competition. We practice Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which includes inspection, monitoring, and proper identification to determine the root cause of pest problems.

We offer strictly organic treatment plans that use products that come from 100% natural ingredients that have been tested and are proven to be effective.

We offer free inspections, referral discounts, and discounts for additional services. We have one of the best guarantees in the business. If we do not meet your expectations, we will return for free until you are satisfied. If the problem persists, we will refund your last service payment.

If you want to keep your home insect -free, contact us today for your free inspection!