The Top Fall Insects to Watch Out For in Troy IL
As the air turns cold and the autumn leaves fall in Troy, IL, the area under, in, and around your house becomes an attractive home for all manner of outdoor creatures, including rodents, insects, and other small animals. While you’ll get the occasional visitor from different species, there are some insects and scurrying animals that you’re more likely to see than others, and those are the pests you’ll have to contend with by using strategic pest control solutions.
The Most Common Fall Pests in and Around Troy, IL
Stink Bug: As the fall weather starts, stink bugs, named for their defensive (and offensive) odor when in danger, start to nest in the Troy, IL area. Stink bugs are brown, triangular-shaped flying insects about half an inch long that feast on the plants of fruits and vegetables. An invasive species, the stink bug most Americans in the Midwest are accustomed to seeing, is originally from East Asia and didn’t become common in the country until the 1990s. They can be brown, dark green or gray, or some combination of the three colors.
Asian Beetles: An accidental arrival from China, Asian beetles, which resemble ladybugs, were introduced to the U.S. to combat aphids that attacked area pecan trees and soybeans. Now that they are established, these yellowish-brown bugs with black spots come out in droves around the first part of autumn, settling on the southern side of buildings and settling into crevices. Of course, they also fly into homes and end up on your windows and walls inside and out. Unlike common black and red ladybugs, these bugs do bite, although there is no cause for concern since their bite is not toxic. They do, however, cause a nuisance and can damage your home. Not only do they present an odor, but they can also stain your walls, making them difficult to clean and leaving you to fight with a constant buzzing of ladybugs in your home.
Mice: For their size, mice are voracious eaters, eating up to twenty times a day and producing up to 100 droppings daily. They usually begin to seek shelter in homes at the beginning of October, as the first signs of cold weather appear in the area. Although they look harmless, mice can spread dangerous pathogens to those who share their homes with them. If you see one mouse, expect there to be many more, since female mice can have babies up to ten times per year.
Crickets: These are very common pest control targets in Illinois, particularly camel crickets, also called spider crickets, because of their uncanny appearance to wolf spiders from a distance. They are brown to dark brown, almost black, and do not chirp like other species of jumping insects. They enter homes accidentally, but once established, can thrive in dark and damp spaces, such as your basement or crawl space. Spider crickets can be destructive because of their hearty appetite for just about everything from fungus, carpets, wood, cardboard, fabric, and each other. They are not dangerous to people, but can often be off-putting and can lead to thousands of dollars worth of damage to clothing and other materials.
Pest Control and your Autumn Insects
One way to control the prevalence of rodents or insects in your home is to consider a crawl space encapsulation, which involves applying a vapor barrier underneath your home that blocks off your crawl space from the outside and serves to block pests from entering your home. Of course, while this works to combat infestations by mice and other rodents as well as crickets, it won’t do much to stop Asian beetles or stink bugs that often enter your home directly from outside or through gaps in windows and screens.
Professional Pest Control Services
There are many things that you can do to reduce your chance of developing a pest infestation in your Troy, IL home, but often, the insects that invade the area are too numerous to avoid altogether. In cases where an insect gains access to your home and proliferates, you may find the need to call on a professional pest control company. Brady Pest & Termite Management has the tools and experience to help you rid your home of unwanted insects without creating any more stress.
One plan of action that they might attempt is the use of a pest barrier that would repel or otherwise discourage insects like stink bugs from entering your home. You may also be provided with advice on how to seal your windows and the cracks in your doors to keep bugs from entering from those areas, ultimately cutting down on the likelihood of an infestation.
Fall in the Troy, IL, area is a beautiful thing. Don’t let pesky insects or rodents ruin it by taking over your happy home.
