It’s August, maybe too early to think about getting out the wool sweaters but not too early to think about fall-invading insects. By that we mean the various insects that don’t die when the weather gets cold outside, but instead move into your home for the winter. They don’t wait until winter either, they’ll be eyeing your home sooner than you think.

AS THE SEASON WINDS DOWN, YOUR HOME BECKONS!

The list of potential fall-invading insects includes: western conifer seed bug and other seed bugs, brown marmorated stink bug and related stink bugs, various lady beetles, elm leaf beetles, boxelder bugs, cluster flies, even certain wasp queens.

You’ll notice that many of these overwintering insects are associated with certain trees or other plants where they feed on foliage or prey on other plant feeders. In late summer or early fall, their plant food source begins to die back, and plant insects begin looking for a warm, dry place to spend the winter (see Why Are There Plant Bugs in My House?). 

Without a convenient structure nearby, these insects would be spending the winter under bark, in old stumps, in firewood piles, under stones, in brick walls, in ground burrows – anyplace where they can get out of the elements.

“MOVING IN” CAN BE A STAGED PROCESS FOR INSECTS

Most fall-invading insects can fly and will congregate together on siding and decks and around the bases of trees prior to actually moving inside. Some don’t really make the move until late fall while others begin looking for opportunities in late summer. You may see them around your home clustered on the warmer, sunny sides of your house around the foundation or on lower walls. They usually work their way upwards, sometimes just spending the winter under siding or around window frames, but often entering attic spaces through gaps around the roofline. At this point, the insects are fairly sluggish and moving slowly. You probably will not even notice when they actually move inside. 

DON’T MISS THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY 

You still have time to block this fall invasion if you take action now. If you’ve had overwintering insects in your home before, you may be even more motivated to block their entrance. The biggest mistake homeowners make is waiting until they see the pests wandering around inside or even on outside walls before they take action. By then it’s largely too late – many more are already settling into your attic or hiding behind the drapes.

Once fall-invading insects have begun to move in, it may be too late to effectively keep them out. And once they’re in, they’re almost impossible to find and control. That’s why it’s important to plan ahead. Colonial Pest can help but there are steps you can take as well such as moving firewood piles away from the foundation and cleaning up outside debris (see Keep Fall Pest Invaders Out!)

LEAVE IT UP TO COLONIAL PEST TO HALT THE INVASION

This is why Colonial Pest Control offers a very popular Preventative Maintenance Program that includes two scheduled seasonal treatments around the outside perimeter of your home. One of these treatments is timed specifically to stop fall-invading insects in their tracks. Everything is done on the outside; we don’t enter your home and you don’t even need to be home when our technician visits. Give us a call today to sign up and schedule your fall service.

At Colonial, we also do preventative pest-proofing which means we seal up all of those openings that insects (and mice) can use to get inside. Our technician will inspect around the exterior of your home looking for unscreened vents, openings around utility conduits, gaps in mortar, exterior doors without thresholds, rotting soffits, and other potential entry points that can be professionally sealed or corrected.

For more information, see Take Steps Now to Keep Fall Pests Outside! and give Colonial Pest a call!