Spring Time is BUG Time!
Spring Time is BUG Time!
Spring – Well it’s here. The long cold nights and the sound of front crunching under gumboots is over. No more washing down those iced up windscreens and rugging up the kids on a winter’s night with icicle pops for hands.
Spring’s an up-lifting time for most of us – motivation seems to appear from nowhere. Some will attack our spring cleaning lists with military like precision, the rest of us, however, tie blindfolds over our eyes and hope our finger points to something on the list we are in ‘the mood’ to do.
The spider broom is busy and even the old shed finally gets a the clean it’s been crying our for since Easter. Where did all these webs come from? Why are mozzies already annoying me? And why were flies even invented in the first place? This great southern land, with all its beauty, reminds us once again who is boss, as long-forgotten spring and summer pest issues return to annoy us.
Prioritise Your Pests
We’ve all met the screamers…could be a cockroach, a spider, a mouse that sets them off…but we are individuals and prioritise pests and control them differently. We have to, because there’s just so many of them at this time of year.
Whether spiders are biting or attacking our hair from the roof line, cockroaches are climbing the walls or ants and mice are eating the foot in our pantries – most of us simple hate them! And let’s not forget the dreaded mosquito. Just when we thought they couldn’t get more irritating – they started transferring viruses. Nationally we have have Ross River, Dengue Virus just to name a couple. Not one of which ‘sounds like fun’, so pest control should be a priority on your ‘to do’ list as Australia may well be on target to have one of its worst mosquito seasons to date.
Once Size Doesn’t Fit All
Some of us will go ‘extreme environmental’ and others will grab the nearest can of fly spray and hold the trigger. The environmental minded may suggest that keeping the webs around is ‘great’ because ‘they keep the flies and mosquitoes away’ but no one wants to suffer, or see their kids suffering, from a spider bite.
Some may decide to go the DIY route to rid themselves of pests and madly boil water to pour down ant nest holes. However, while some of these methods can work in the short term, there’s little evidence of long term impact of DIY treatments on ants, spiders, mozzies or even a shed full of webs and flying insects. I do, however, applaud those willing to persist and wait.
Some advances have been made through, in natural and chemical product advances. I can almost feel some people cringe when the word ‘chemical’ is mentioned. I really can. That said, in 21 year’s experience, I can comfortably say I sit on whichever side of the fence works best for the job at hand.
Now, there’s always alot of fiery debate around the kitchen table when chemical’s whipping boy, ‘glyphosate’, gets mentioned. However, it’s important not to tar every chemical product on the market with the same brush. I personally sit on the pro side. It is is important to note that modern day pest control advances have been phenomenal and most products on today’s market – when applied correctly – are safer than some cleaning products used around the home.
Rolling Up Those Spring Sleeves
Whether you’re taking the environmental approach this spring or you’re keen on liquid surface sprays – natural or chemical based – now’s the time to get busy or arrange your local contractor to get to work. Spring is the best time to apply any type of liquids to the surfaces of areas where pests need to be stopped in their tracks.
It’s best to start with a sparkling clean surface anytime you’re about to apply any type of product to prevent pest activity. This helps the product, your or your pest controller have chosen, to bond safely to the surface and give it the best chance of impact.
So, clean up those spider webs first, and hose down all the dust and general much that’s been clinging to the surfaces or walls, bin areas and sheds over the winter months. There are a lot of great products on the market at the moment. Most are water-based and completely odourless and will dramatically reduce spiders, ants, cockroaches, mosquitos and all types of creepy crawly activity. There’s also some fantastic professional fly baits and liquids on the market that come highly recommended and can drastically reduce fly activity around homes and outdoor areas.
Stagnant Water
Keep an eye on stagnant water this spring and summer too. Whether is an unused water bowl, old planter ports, ponds or water tanks – mosquito larvae love it! Sometimes, mosquito reduction may be as simple as reassessing the areas where water lays or is stored, either purposely or unintentionally, around your home.
No matter which approach suits you best, November and December, in particular, are the best months to get the jump on pest activity around your homes.
