How Weather Affects Insects
Outdoor temperatures and conditions affect insects, including their behavior, feeding habits, reproduction rates, and their desire to come inside homes and buildings for shelter. As cold-blooded creatures that cannot produce body heat, insects depend on their surrounding areas for warmth and comfort. When temperatures drop outside, insects come inside for warmth.
Once inside the home, insects may find a place to hibernate or simply seek shelter. Spiders, Box-Elder bugs, American cockroaches, and Ladybugs are a few common insects that come indoors in response to cooler temperatures.
Did You Know?
When temperatures cool down in the autumn, some insects become slow and sluggish. Grasshoppers, for example, become stiff when it is cold outside. They cannot move until the sun warms their body temperature.
Flying insects cannot move their wings fast enough to fly when temperatures drop to 40 degrees F or lower.
How Hot Weather Affects Insects
Hot weather affects insects though differently than cold weather. Insects come out of hibernation and reproductive rates among many species increase dramatically. This explains the increase in insects outside during the summer months.
Insects need more food during the summer months due to an increase in their metabolic rates. In response, they come inside to find more food. Insects also damage gardens during the summer months. They enjoy tasty vegetables and fruit like so many people!
Heavy Rain & Droughts Impact Insects
When it is extremely dry outside, insects scour inside homes and buildings searching for water. Some insects thrive in drought, like grasshoppers and spiders, bugs which can also destroy gardens and crops. Mosquitoes need water to breed. If it’s dry outside, it affects their reproduction rates.
When there’s too much water, moisture-loving insects like mosquitoes, stink bugs and cockroaches come out in masses. Expect increases in the mosquito population throughout Muscle Shoals after heavy rainfall.
Other insects aren’t as happy about the excess rainfall and head inside searching for shelter. Spiders, ants, and roaches are among the insects invading homes looking for dry grounds and food.
When bug problems cause concern, call Southern Pride Pest Control. Our range of services helps families fight back against insects, regardless of the weather.
Southern Pride Pest Control is a full-service pest control company headquartered in Muscle Shoals, AL. SPPC specializes in pest control and prevention services including termite control, rodent control, bed bug control, ant control, mosquito control, and can even help with moisture control around your residence or commercial property. Established in 2010, Southern Pride Pest Control is a reliable source for quality pest-management solutions delivered by a team you can trust.
Call us today for any of your pest control needs.
