How to Stop the Top 8 Spring Pests

The spring brings warmer weather and fresh flowers, but it's also accompanied by annoying pests. Thankfully, we have a range of ways to keep these unwanted visitors away.

Protecting Your Garden and Yard from Spring Pests

Your garden and yard are especially susceptible to spring pests that you likely want to keep far away.

1. Mosquitoes

Not only are mosquitoes incredibly pesky, they can be dangerous to have around your yard. These blood-sucking bugs have the potential to carry diseases that they could pass on to people they bite, such as Zika or West Nile virus. They are also responsible for transmitting parasites, such as heartworm to dogs.

To keep mosquitoes at bay, get rid of sources of standing water, which gives mosquito eggs and larva a place to mature and allows for breeding. Plant mosquito repellent garden. If you're into biological pest control, you might even want to build a bat house to encourage the mosquito-eating critters to help you patrol the skies.

2. Carpenter Ants

These large, black ants thrive in moisture-damaged or rotting wood. They leave a tell-tale trail of sawdust-like shavings around from their tunneling. These ants can cause serious issues for wood structures, such as a deck. They commonly originate from piles of firewood or dead wood, so don’t keep brush piles or dead tree stumps around your yard. If you discover these pesky ants around your home, use a spray to kill and ward them off in the area infested.

3. Slugs

Slugs pose a risk to your garden, biting holes in your plants and chowing down on bulbs, hostas, lettuce, and asparagus among other plants and flowers. To keep slugs away from your garden, use snail bait to control the population.

4. Wasps and Hornets

Although wasps are useful in helping control the population of other insects, their painful stings make them unwelcome spring pests. The wasp family includes other stinging bugs such as hornets, mud daubers, and yellow jackets. Some of these are especially attracted to food and drinks, causing them to swarm you as you dine al fresco. They also may be attracted to trash containers for this reason.

To keep wasps at bay, you can use a spray to kill them that won’t harm plants. If you discover a nest of wasps, consider having a professional come to remove it to ensure you don’t get into a dangerous situation.

Protecting Your Home from Spring Pests

There are several indoor pests that are common in the spring, but there are ways you can protect your home against them.

5. Termites

These wood-eating bugs are common spring pests occurring both indoor and out. They can do a large amount of damage to your home, so it’s imperative to protect against them. Being proactive is the key to working against them, treating your home with either a DIY or exterminator method to ward them off. This should be done early in the spring for maximum protection.

6 and 7. Cockroaches and Silverfish

Your bathroom may experience an influx of bug visitors during the spring months. Silverfish and cockroaches are attracted to moisture, making a bathroom the perfect place for them to reside. To avoid these entering your bathroom or to rid the space of them, eliminate sources of water. Ensure there are no leaks or dripping faucets, wash your shower curtain liner and shower curtain to dry them out, and check the medicine cabinet and around the tub and toilet for puddles that may be attracting these unwanted creatures.

8. Rodents

Mice and rats are certainly undesirable in your home, but they have a tendency to retreat to basements in the spring months. The dark spaces and multitude of hiding spaces give these pests the perfect place to hide, making it a coveted home.

To avoid them taking up residence in your space, eliminate clutter and avoid using cardboard boxes to store items, as rodents can easily get into these. Instead, use plastic bins that have lids.

Additionally, seal cracks and crevices with a silicone-based caulk to prevent these pests from entering your home in the first place. Somewhat scarily, mice can fit through a hole as little as the size of a dime, so sealing openings is imperative.

Avoid spring pests in your home and yard to make this spring your best yet.