Primary Pests Right Now
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Call Us Today! 952-404-BOGO (2646)
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Ants
Ants are one of the first insects to wake up or thaw out after winter. During the spring it’s common to see winged ants. Winged ants also known as swarmers indicate the ant mating season has started. Each ant species mates in what is known as nuptial flight. Male and Female ants both have wings. The worker ants do not. After mating the male dies soon after. The female or queen ant then flies to locate a new nesting site to start a new ant colony.
Winged Carpenter ants can commonly be misidentified as termites. One major difference to look for would be the body shape. A carpenter ant’s body is visibly broken into 3 sections. The head, abdomen, and thorax. Termite bodies are rectangular or oval-shaped. Carpenter ants are also darker in color and have longer antennas that are elbowed
Wasps
Each spring wasps build brand new nests from scratch. If there is a nest on your home from last summer or fall that nest will not be used ever again. In the Spring queens will wake up from hibernation and start searching for places to build a new nest. It is common for the worker wasps from last summer to starve or freeze to death over the winter. Unfortunately, this last winter of 2023-2024 was very mild, and more worker wasps were able to survive. These worker wasps can be seen swarming around the south sides of homes to warm up their bodies as temperatures continue to drop at night. Wasps are not interested in going inside homes. If they are spotted inside it is by accident and they will often die from stress and starvation. Their bodies also become lethargic letting you know they don’t want to be there.
Centipedes
Centipedes are one of the scariest-looking insects we have here in Minnesota. During the spring centipede activity becomes more noticeable inside damp basements. These insects are prone to dehydration so they need to live in moist environments to survive. Centipedes are the apex predator in the insect world. They will eat a variety of insects that may be living inside. If a home currently has insect activity this would attract centipedes to live inside the home.
Moisture Pests
There are a variety of different moisture pests that can start making their way inside in the Spring. Some of the most common include; millipedes, springtails, sowbugs, and earwigs. These insects all play the same role in nature. They help break down dead organic matter. They start making their way inside in the spring from the increase in groundwater from rainfall and snow melt. We recommend clearing out any leaf litter inside basement gully windows and keeping plants and shrubs trimmed back at least 2 feet away from the home. We also highly recommend installing a dehumidifier in the basement.
Ticks
Spring is the start of the tick’s life cycle. Adult ticks lay their eggs in the fall inside fallen leaf litter. This is one reason why picking up leaf litter in the fall is so important. Their eggs start to hatch as the weather warms up. When the eggs hatch the young nymphs attach themselves to smaller mammals that rustle through the leaf litter like squirrels, mice, and other small mammals. Ticks morph into adults after being alive for one year. This means ticks that hatched out last spring will now be adults this spring and are more likely to attach themselves to larger hosts like humans, pets, and deer. They will perch on tall grasses and shrubs and wait patiently for their next host to walk by.
If you have any questions or concerns or would like to schedule an appointment call or send us an email
Call Us Today! 952-404-BOGO (2646)
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