Why Are Pests More Active In Summer?

What Causes Pests to Flourish in Summer Months?

Why Are Pests More Active In Summer?

Summer’s warm weather and increased daylight brings people outdoors to enjoy the sunshine. However, these ideal conditions also allow pests to thrive and become more active around homes. Understanding what draws pest populations out during summer can help you defend your home.

1. Warm Temperatures Wake Up Pests

Warmer temperatures signal to insects and rodents that it is time to wake up and become active after months of winter dormancy. Cracks and crevices around the home provide safe places for pests to overwinter when thermals drop. As external heat rise to their liking in summer, they emerge seeking food and water sources for their survival.

For example, warmer months cues ants to begin foraging. Carpenter ants, odorous house ants, pharaoh ants and other ant species build up their colonies through summer. You may notice long trails of ants marching to and from your home environment once conditions hit about 70°F.

2. Food Sources Become Abundant

Flowers, ripe vegetables and fruits, unattended pet food, improperly stored human food and ripening compost piles provide nutrition for summer pests. With more choices available, rodents, ants, cockroaches and other feeders increase foraging efforts and eat their fill. Well-fed pests lay more eggs and expand their colonies.

Some of them become more active at dusk looking for meals. For example, rats venture further from their sheltered nests to scout for sustenance when the sun sets. As nocturnal creatures, rats take advantage of concealing darkness while searching yards and homes for their next meal.

3. Prime Reproduction Season Arrives

Warmer weather allows cold-blooded creatures like insects to grow quicker through their life stages. Female pests can lay substantially more eggs during ideal summer conditions compared to colder months. One fertile ant or cockroach can exponentially increase the home’s pest problem in just a short period.

For example, a single female German cockroach can produce an egg case holding 30-40 nymphs. By herself, that one roach could infest an entire home within a summer if unchecked.

4. Longer Days Mean More Active Hours

In summer, there are more daylight hours for diurnal (daytime) pests to look for edibles, stagnant water and home. Daylight provides essential heat that cold-blooded animals require to stay active. With up to 15 hours of daily summer sun in some regions, they have far more time to access homes compared to shorter night of winter days.

Crevices around doors, windows, utilities and foundations provide entry points for determined pests like ants, roaches, flies, spiders and stinging insects. Gaps and cracks thoughout homes give them hiding spots to nest, breed and ride out the hottest hours before emerging again at dusk.

5. Increased Moisture Attracts Pests

While warm-season showers water yards, they also draw pests towards homes. They flock to dampness found in wet grass, standing puddles, dripping outdoor faucets, uncapped chimneys, condensation inside trash bins and more. Rodents also need a steady supply of water to survive and may scout homes with leaks.

Excess moistness allows some common pests to thrive better near buildings. For example, termites swarm to start new colonies during summer showers. Carpenter ants also nest in rain-soaked, damaged wood. It only takes a small opening and a bit of wetness for them to exploit structural weaknesses.

6. Life Cycles Hasten in Summer

Complete metamorphosis is quicker for pests during summer season. With excess food and heat, immature pest forms transition rapidly to reproducing adults in some species. For example, horn flies and deer flies both have life cycles of just 2-3 weeks in peak season. Several generations can occur by end of summer, exponentially increasing fly pressures.

Mosquitoes also transform from aquatic larvae, to mating adults often within just two weeks of summer’s onset. Multiple broods hatch and develop prompting aggressive biting. A single floodwater mosquito can lay up to 300 eggs per summer.

7. Increased Human Activity Draws Pests

With kids home from school and weather ideal for grilling, more hours is spent outdoors. However, human activity like opening doors, leaving scraps, using lighting and emitting carbon dioxide attracts them to properties. Clever pests recognise humans as prime sources for food and shelter.

Some winged pests even migrate inside homes following the carbon dioxide trail humans produce from breathing. Invaders like boxelder bugs, multicolored Asian lady beetles and cluster flies detect CO2 plumes and fly towards houses. Screened windows and doors seal pesky migrants outside.

What Causes Pests to Flourish in Summer Months?

Conclusion

Warmer weather with increased food, moisture, and activity tempt pesky pests to become more active around homes each summer.

Pay attention and recognise signs revealing seasonal pests. Then implement preventative measures sealing cracks, cleaning up crumbs, installing lighting and using pest deterrents when necessary.

Defend your home from summer’s hungriest invaders. With diligence, you can relax and enjoy pest-free outdoors all season long.

Pro Tip: To prevent an increase in pest activity and potential infestation this breeding season, contact a professional pest control service that can identify seasonal bugs and properly treat home entry points before pest infestation develops. Don’t wait until you spot multiple unwanted guests – frequent inspections and prevention service gives you season-long control over peak insect populations seeking summer shelter.