How Does Rain Affect Pests Around Your Home?

At the end of every summer, hurricane season brings a lot of rain to the South, especially the state of Georgia. Rain ends up spoiling people’s outdoor activities, moving fun picnics inside and breaking up backyard parties. With that being said, the rain also forces many pests out of their habitats to search for drier shelter. Underground habitats are prone to flooding. This can mean an increase in activity for ants, cockroaches, yellow jackets and other pests. Bugs that suddenly need a new shelter can easily find spaces in houses, garages, sheds and other structures around your home. Here Lookout Pest Control, formerly Any Pest Inc., discusses how rain affects pests around your home and which pests are most affected by the rain.

Ants

Ants build their nests over shallow burrows and tunnel systems in the ground. These burrows are in some of the worst possible places during heavy rain. Water can quickly flood the nest, forcing the colony to escape to dry shelter. For insects like ants, it takes more than the cover of a few trees to survive a storm. Ants often find shelter in homes and buildings, entering through cracks in the walls or under a garage door that doesn’t fully close. From there, they will start searching for food until the soil dries enough to rebuild their nests. This is one way an infestation can form.

Cockroaches

Cockroaches thrive in humidity, so rainy weather is prime time for roaches. Because of their need for moisture, cockroaches often live in sewers, drains and other wet locations. Similar to ants, cockroach nests are also prone to flooding during rainstorms. To survive heavy rain, roaches might enter homes and buildings and take shelter. With that being said, roaches can be an even more dangerous intruder than ants. These pests are resilient, quick and usually scavenge at night. Once they find a reliable wet source post rainstorm they will stick around.

Yellow Jackets

While rainy weather affects these pests’ ability to get around easily. Wasps are most active during the summer months, when hot, dry weather lets them move around most freely. Summer storms are bad for yellow jackets, which tend to also build their nests in the ground. Whether it’s in a hole in the ground, under the porch stairs or beneath the sidewalk, a yellow jacket nest has a higher chance of flooding when it rains. When yellow jackets are driven from their nests, they can become more aggressive. This becomes a big problem when these flying pests enter homes and garages to find shelter. Aggressive yellow jackets do not mix well with humans or pets. All of these pests can spread quickly and cause major problems if they build nests in your home.

Prevention

Pest control can be difficult to do yourself, especially when it comes to certain pests. Calling a professional pest control company like Lookout Pest Control is the best solution. In the meantime, use these simple tips to avoid such pests during heavy rainfall.

1. Look for entry points
2. Seal cracks and holes
3. Remove trash and debris
4. Clean up crumbs and spills
5. Clear sink and tub drains
6. Organize clutter

Call Lookout Pest Control Today!

Did you recently have a heavy rainstorm? Did you find pests entering your home? Here at Lookout Pest Control we combine the highest quality work with the best customer service available in the industry. We have been protecting residential properties for nearly three decades with our residential home pest control services. Give us a call today!

678-888-0035