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Michael Wienecke 0:11
Welcome to another episode of Peskies Pest control podcast here in Birmingham, Alabama with Michael and Travis. We do this podcast as a community service for Birmingham, Hoover Vestavia, hills, mountain Brook Halina, Alabaster, Pelham, and all other surrounding areas. Hey, so today I want to talk about weather change and how weather change affects different bugs and, you know, different bug sightings in your home?
Travis McGowin 0:46
Well, first of all, let me just go ahead and say that, thank goodness, the weather is changing.
Michael Wienecke 0:52
I am looking forward to it. Yes, I have waited so
Travis McGowin 0:55
long for fall to come along and cooler weather and less humidity and all of those those rough things that we deal with, you know, from the time spring kicks off and all the way through summer in Alabama. So I’m highly looking forward to the weather change.
Michael Wienecke 1:11
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Mosquitoes are about to be gone completely. And we’re looking forward to that, because the mosquito season has been been pretty rough this year.
Travis McGowin 1:21
It has it has, you know, and, you know, all throughout the summer, we were able to get a fair amount of rain Fair, fair amount of moisture. But here’s we’ve crept into fall, it’s kind of tapered off. So it’s got the bugs going a little crazy.
Michael Wienecke 1:37
Yeah, well, I mean, you know, just like we talked about in other podcasts, you know, bugs, they need harbourage, they need plenty of heat and moisture. So you know, as we’re starting to get into that wintertime phase, your house is a great source of harbourage and a great source of heat and moisture.
Travis McGowin 1:57
Yeah, I don’t think people realize just how much the weather not even just temperature. But you know, like you were saying moisture. So rainfall and humidity. I don’t think a lot of people realize just how much of an effect that actually has on the insect behavior in the insect population. You know, in terms of when it starts to get cooler, the insects go into that mode of searching for a place to overwinter and to ride out those cooler temperatures for the cooler months, then, you know, your home just becomes a prime target.
Michael Wienecke 2:31
Yeah. Because you know that that I think a lot of people think that just the bugs just die. And they just they’re just gone. During the during the winter was don’t get me wrong, some do die. But it’s it’s more of a, you know, going dormant and then reemerging once that that humidity and everything outside starts to take a take place.
Travis McGowin 2:55
Definitely. So why don’t you kind of elaborate on those typical cooler weather paths that someone might see trying to enter their home. And I’m not even talking about just insects. I mean, there are other pests such as rodents that like to try to find a warm place to lay up for the winter. So once you kind of elaborate on that for us.
Michael Wienecke 3:16
Yeah, of course. So you know, first thing that comes to my mind are going to be cockroaches, cockroaches are 365 days a year, they can, you know, survive a lot. So just because you don’t see cockroaches in your home in the wintertime doesn’t mean they’re not there. They can get those cracks and crevices those tight spots. And that’s, you know, one reason why it’s so important to to continue treating your home in the winter, because you’re going to have a much better success rate when those roaches do start to become less dormant, and then come out and you start seeing them on your kitchen floor and your bathroom in you know, places like that. You know, with with rodents trying to get in your house, I wasn’t going to make this about rodents, but I feel like we can always we can always talk about rodents and how they get in your house. But yeah, I mean, same deal. You know, it’s freezing cold out there warm, warm blooded creatures. So they are looking for a nice, easy place to sleep, feeling safe and then having a meal. So you know, just with that weather change, you can you may not see so many pests, but you have to understand that they are still there.
Travis McGowin 4:28
Definitely, you know, one of one of the most troublesome and aggravating pests that some of my customers will actually two of the most troublesome and aggravating pests that my customers deal with, especially in that weather change period. I see a lot of stinkbugs trying to get in aureus for that as well as a lot of Asian lady beetles.
Michael Wienecke 4:52
Yeah, honestly, we haven’t had too many calls on those yet. I know it’s coming and it’s always it’s always fun to You don’t have to get out there and start treat addicts and all that fun stuff. So
Travis McGowin 5:03
problem with him is that once they’re there, they’re kind of there. So if people wait until it becomes an issue you know, they can go ahead and mean that their attic is invested their wallboard or infested, there are just many different places those animals or excuse me, insects can get into from the outside, just to hold up for the wintertime. So, you know, I’ve got one customer who’s got a log cabin style home. And the spouse is actually she’s allergic to allergic to the Asian lady beetles somehow or another. And so that’s a major, major ordeal for them. So we did handle their problem pretty well last year, but we were a little bit more proactive in terms of our treatment this year. And it’s been overall actually so far successful. I think that they said that they have seen one live one in the house. And since we’ve treated they have seen none. So you know, there are ways to be proactive to some of these pests and the way that they overwinter. But you just have to catch them before it becomes an issue.
Michael Wienecke 6:08
Yeah, and I’ll say that for any pest issue. I mean, if you know, I always got a German roaches, because you always think of that as like your infestation or even fleas. You know, if you’re seeing one or two fleas in the house, or you know, a couple roaches in the house, you know, get it get it taken care of as soon as possible. And then you’re not going to have you know, 10,000 fleas jumping all over you in the next you know, couple of months.
Travis McGowin 6:32
Yeah, always better to get a jump on those things before they before they get blown out of control. Because it’s much easier to not have to play catch up.
Michael Wienecke 6:43
Yeah, so like I said, just biggest thing with the weather change is just understanding that, you know, you may not be seeing as many pests as you normally would in the in the summertime. But they’re definitely still there. So I wouldn’t get comfortable thinking that, you know, you had a big pest issue in the summertime, and now you’re not having it in the wintertime. It’s still there. It’s just not as as active as you as you would think in the summertime.
Travis McGowin 7:08
Well. And the other thing that customers and listeners need to remember too, is that if products and services are not continued through the winter time, let’s just you know, let’s just say for example, we’ve got a customer that’s on a quarterly service plan, and their next quarterly services due in December, but they choose to forego that quarterly service. You know, when those weather changes start coming back around for spraying those barriers that were there are not that what should have been there are not going to be there at that point. And so you’re asking for another major influx of insects to get into your home. Or when some of these insects that have overwintered are kind of coming back to life so to speak. You’re asking to see a huge influx. So not the best idea to just cancel off what you had going on. Just because you’re you know, your pest pressures lower, you’re seeing less less than six.
Michael Wienecke 8:03
Yeah, I completely agree. I mean, we’ve seen that firsthand. People who have quit, you know, or cancelled service during the winter, and then in the summer calling us back and said, you know, they’re worse than they’ve ever been. So I think I think you’re right, I think that’s 100% important. Thank you for listening to the pesky pest control podcast here in Birmingham, Alabama with Michael and Travis. If you have any questions about what we’ve discussed today, please give us a call at 205-470-8161. And as for me, Michael wyniki. I’ll be happy to speak with you anytime. And don’t forget to share this podcast with your friends and subscribe to us on Apple, Amazon, Google and Spotify. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time.
