Now that fall is mercifully here, much like plants and animals, as well as some people, many insects “sense” that cooler weather is coming. Their quest for a warm place to spend the winter often leads them to your house. Typically, insects like to winter in a place that is about 50 degrees. The area close to your walls fits that bill perfectly.
Tiny cracks and crevices offer shelter for some of the pests mentioned below. Sealing these hiding places may keep bugs away. A fall pest control treatment is even better. It is very difficult to seal every bit of shelter. But it is relatively easy for a professional to lay down a protective barrier which helps keeps bugs away from many months.
Beetles
Generally, ladybugs are completely harmless to pets and people. These bugs usually provide important benefits as well. For example, these predatory insects usually eat aphids and other pests which could harm plants.
But in the last few years, more Asian lady beetles have appeared in Madison Alabama. Much like their ladybug cousins, these beetles consume some harmful pests. However, these colorful Asian lady beetles secrete ugly, foul-smelling yellow fluid which permanently stains furniture and clothes. Additionally, some of these beetles bite, although the bite is usually not that serious.
Stink Bugs
Like Asian Lady Beetles, stink bugs usually wander into area houses looking for a place to spend the winter. But the mild winters we usually have in Alabama may not completely drive these insects indoors. Instead, they may continue to venture outside, especially in the daytime. Stink bugs have straw-like mouths they use to suck sap from plants.
Typically, stink bugs are only annoying in this way. However, they have been known to bite pets and people.
Kudzu Bugs
With a name like “Kudzu Bug,” it has to be beneficial, right? Well, not always. These insects do not just eat kudzu. They also eat soybeans.
During the fall, as their food sources die, kudzu bugs usually migrate to the city. They are especially attracted to white surfaces, like garage doors and exterior walls. Sometimes, there are reports of kudzu bugs completely covering these surfaces.
Much like Asian lady beetles, kudzu bugs often secrete that yucky, yellow fluid which stains everything it touches. These bugs do not bite, but as mentioned, they do swarm in extremely large numbers. So, a kudzu bug infestation is not dangerous, but it could be disgusting and unsettling.
One visit from A+ Pest Control can keep pests like these away from your home and family this fall.
