It seems like summer just started, yet September is the month when we prepare to say goodbye to the summer and say hello to fall. Don’t fret; fall has plenty of charm. It’s time to bring out those cool-weather clothes (we hope you packed your sweaters in mothballs or cedar) and start dreaming of apple cider, pumpkin spice everything, and welcome a slight change to the often-hectic pace of summertime.
However, you’re not the only person feeling the cooler weather. As the evenings grow chillier, plenty of insects will take that as their cue to find a warmer home. So, what’s the buss about fall? We’ll give you the lowdown on the most annoying fall insects to look out for in and out of your home.
Houseflies
Flies will find their way into your home at any time of the year if the opportunity arises. However, their numbers will explode in the fall due to the wetter weather, fallen foliage, and our tendency to start opening our windows again due to the cooler weather.
All it takes is a few fly intruders to create an entire fly civilization in little more than a week. If unchecked, you could find your home infested, especially if all this happens while you’re away on vacation.
What we can do: check for any major gaps in your home that could let in flies even if the doors and windows are secure, eliminate existing flies, remove any incentive for flies to infest your home, and deploy poison bait to keep them away.
Fruit Flies
Apples, pears, peaches, plums; what does this all mean? Sure, it’s just about pie season (or cobbler if that’s your thing.) However, with all this low-hanging fruit comes one of the most annoying insects of all. We’re talking of course about the fruit fly. If you’re a fruit eater, then you’re most likely familiar with this bug.
They love to congregate around your fruit basket and garbage can. When either one is disturbed, a cloud of bugs rises lazily into the air, giving you that creepy-crawly feeling as you realize that these fat little orbs with wings are probably laying microscopic eggs on the apple you’re about to eat.
What we can do: spray for insects, creating a parameter around your home that will deter them from entering. Deploy specialized fruit-fly traps that will capture and eliminate the existing population. Offer tips for keeping your property free of things that fruit flies love to further reduce their numbers.
Gnats
Have you ever been in the middle of mowing your yard, when suddenly you hear a distinct buzzing in your ear, then the unsettling sensation of a small, winged insect lodging itself inside your ear cavity? Or, of course, the dreaded and pervasive sting as a gnat collides head first into the white of your eye.
Gnats are a pain, and they never seem to learn their lesson. They’ll kamikaze into you as many times as it takes. They also love fall because the weather tends to be wetter and foliage begins to decompose on the ground, creating a perfect habitat for them.
What we can do: spray your yard for gnats and disrupt their ability to reproduce. Deploy gnat traps that actively lure and capture existing gnats, so they stay out of your face.
Yellow Jackets
Yellow jackets are a species all their own. Unlike bees, they prefer to eat meat (believe it or not) and they can both bite and sting repeatedly. Worse yet, they love to build their nests in the ground. Yes, the very same ground that you and your family play in; they don’t distinguish between the isolation of a forest floor and your backyard.
While meat is their favorite, yellow jackets also love sugar. As apples and other fleshy fruits start to ripen, yellow jackets come in droves to take advantage of these natural sugars. As if ground-dwelling, meat-eating, sugar-high stinging insects weren’t bad enough, yellow jackets are also extremely territorial and aggressive.
What we can do: identify and remove yellow jacket nests via excavation or spray, depending on the location and size of the hive. Make sure to caulk and seal your attic and/or crawl space so these areas are less attractive to nesting yellow jackets.
