Fall Insect Check for the Home
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Fall weather means that animals and insects are facing changes in their life cycles. Temperatures are dropping and the day length is getting shorter. Typically, our first freeze happens in mid to late October. What does this mean for our homes and the critters that we’d prefer not to become our new roommates?
It means that this is a great time to make a full sweep through the home and check windows for any gaps or open spaces that insects may come through. The same sweep and keen eye need to be applied to the foundation for any gaps that mice or insects may be able to make their way through. Seal these gaps with insulating foam or caulking, depending on the gap and location. Check to make sure that the gap underneath doors that lead outside fully seal.
Making sure that your closets, infrequently used rooms, and basements have been cleaned recently to remove any dead insects. Dead insects are a food source for other pests, including brown recluse spiders. Also, checking for live insect populations and mitigating them will keep wolf spiders from coming into the home in search of prey.
Common spiders to see inside the home include wolf spiders and brown recluse spiders. Wolf spiders don’t string webs to catch their prey, instead they rely on speed and stealth to hunt insects and other spiders. Brown recluse spiders feed on both live and dead insects and also use speed to run down their prey. Both spiders can be kept from becoming a nuisance pest by keeping a food source from becoming available. You may need an exterminator to treat your home to address pest populations; be sure to clean up any affected insects to remove the potential food source.
The number one tool that you can employ when it comes to spiders and prepping your home for fall is observation. You should know what is ‘normal’ for your home and space so when something changes and problems arise you can identify what is causing a problem and how to get rid of it.
Check out the publications linked below to learn more about brown recluse spiders and wolf spiders and how to identify them.
https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/wolf-spiders