Generally speaking, most people don’t associate a lot of pest control issues with winter, because most unwanted guests are more active in Spring, Summer and Fall. The truth is, cold weather can sometimes encourage more infestation with certain pests.
Rodents
When the weather starts to get chilly, rodents will often seek shelter from the cold in homes. During the winter, not only is it cold, but outdoor food sources are scarce, so what better way to stay warm and well fed than to invade a nice warm building with plenty of food. Rodents will go where the food is and oftentimes that can mean your cabinets, pantries, and other places where you store food that a rodent can easily get into.
Box-elder Bugs
These common creepy crawlies feed on and reproduce on female seed-bearing box-elder trees, but like all bugs, they are cold-blooded. When box-elders sleep for the winter, the box-elder bugs seek shelter, often in homes. Box-elder bugs have very flat bodies, so they can squeeze into many nooks and crannies and gain access to your home. Though these bugs are more a nuisance pest, nobody wants to see them crawling around their home in winter months.
Cockroaches
Of all the pests that can enter your home, the cockroach is one of the most common. Here in Oregon, the most common are the German cockroach which is small (usually under an inch long), tan to light brown with antennae that is often as long as their bodies), or the Oriental cockroach (1 -1 1/2 inches in length, darker, dark brown to nearly black, most commonly found outside homes). This is a creature you want to be swift in controlling as they can spread disease and contaminate food and can draw in other spiders and pests that feed on them. They quickly multiply and are hard to get rid of without professional help from All Natural Pest Elimination.
Termites
Among pests, these creatures are the most dreaded. Termites cause millions of dollars in structural damage each year. They are less active in winter, but if they have infected your warm home, they will continue to do so throughout the winter. The most common termites in Oregon are the subterranean termites and dry wood termites. Either of these varieties can cause damage to your home’s structural integrity, so you will want them eliminated as soon as possible.
Hobo Spiders
Hobo spiders were given their name due to a behavior in which they hitchhike on objects and move into other places that provide warmth, food, and shelter. By most standards the hobo spider is considered harmless. Hobo spiders have brown bodies and a grayish abdomen with yellowish markings. The body is about ¼ inch to ½ inch in length with a leg span of 1-2 inches. But no one wants a spider in their home no matter how harmless they might seem.
Fleas
These tiny wingless insects can wreak havoc on your pets and home. They cause itchy bites and are known to carry deadly diseases like the bubonic plague. Winter may slow them down and will even kill them if exposed to freezing temperatures for too long. However, if your pet has fleas, they will thrive as long as your pet is indoors. A female flea can lay hundreds of eggs each week, so they easily become a problem. Cold weather will not kill flea eggs; it only slows down their development.
Bedbugs
Bedbugs are tiny little parasitic insects that live in homes. They will die in temperatures that are below freezing. Since our homes have a steady temperature of 68-72 degrees on average year round, this has no effect on bedbugs. They continue to feed on the blood of their victims, mate and multiply year-round. A female bedbug can lay 1-5 eggs a day, that means a female will have laid as many as 500 eggs in her lifetime. These creatures are tiny and hard to locate in your home, but your home can easily become infested if a bedbug population gets a foothold.
If you suspect any of these pests are in your home give All-Natural Pest Elimination a call at 877-662-8449 and let us come inspect your home and eliminate your unwanted house guests.
