By: Katie Peckat
The fading of winter brings a renewed sense of life, and spring pests in Illinois are a guaranteed part of that renewal. Spring weather alerts overwintering pests to reemerge from their warm, safe spots; and they begin to start building, feeding, and growing their nests and populations. It’s crucial to get ahead of common spring pests, by maintaining a pest-repellent barrier around your home. Here are three common pests you are likely to encounter this spring.
Common Spring Pests in Illinois
Ants
One of the first hints of spring, even before green plants shoot from the soil and buds form on trees, are ants inside of homes. When daytime temperatures reach the low 40s, ants become active and ramp up their springtime foraging, as they plan to grow the colony for the season. Ants are highly social insects that live in colonies. These colonies can be found outside in hollowed stumps or logs and underground, as well as inside the walls and floorboards of homes and businesses. Interior ant colonies are called satellite colonies. On Average, there are 1.6 million ants to every person. This is why, when you see one or two ants, you only see a small part of the big picture. Recurring maintenance is the best defense against ant populations.
Wasps
One of the last arrivals to spring, but certainly not the least bothersome, are wasps. Wasps emerge toward the end of April to the middle of May, as nighttime temperatures stay consistently warmer. Wasps are found throughout most of the spring through fall. In the spring, regular maintenance helps prevent wasps from building nests on your property. The two most common wasp species you’re likely to encounter are paper wasps and yellowjackets. We work hard to get ahead of wasp concerns before summer and fall begin and wasps become highly aggressive and territorial.
Spiders
As a result of their love of water, spiders are at the top of our spring pest list, despite being more commonly associated with fall. In addition to being solitary arachnids that thrive away from human sight, in cool, moist, and dark environments, spiders are commonly found on porches, under the eaves, and around doors and windows as well. You are likely to encounter spiders all year round, as they become domesticated when coming indoors and rarely will go back outside of the home.
Less Common Spring Pests
Ticks
It’s important to protect yourself from ticks not only when you are hiking in the spring, but also to work to prevent ticks from nesting on your lawn. If you have ever gone on a spring hike, then you know what ticks are like. Some tick species carry diseases such as Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and Chagas Disease that are spread across the globe.
Clover Mites
Homeowners are increasingly finding the presence of Clover mites, which are tiny red mites that live near doors and windows. They are often found in homes that have grass along the foundation line, and lawns that have been fertilized. It can be very difficult to eradicate these pests, and for that reason, homeowners must take additional preventative measures, such as:
- Minimize or eliminate the use of fertilizers on your lawn
- Remove all plants and trees from around your home
- Replace the grass around your foundation with rock
- Apply a sealant to windows and doors
Boxelder
Whether your property has boxelder trees or not, you’re likely to encounter boxelder bugs living in Illinois. They are one of the easiest common spring pests in Illinois to identify, due to the red X-shape on their black back. Boxelders are most commonly found during fall and spring, as they migrate in and out of homes. Boxelders overwinter in wall voids and reemerge and exit homes in the spring. You may see boxelder bugs congregating on a sunny wall in early spring. Sometimes they get lost along the way and you’ll see them inside the home. Due to their nature of mass migration, we recommend continued maintenance and management to prevent overwintering boxelder bugs.
We Work Hard to Prevent Spring Pests in Illinois
We work hard to make sure that you get to enjoy the benefits of spring, by applying an early protective barrier around your home or business. It’s important to combat nesting queens and the mass migration of boxelder bugs back outdoors. Take the ProActive approach to prevent common spring pests in Illinois, by contacting us at (630) 451-8101.