Bugs Come out Early This Year
YAKIMA COUNTY --- The bugs are back and they're early this year. It's a pest problem sparked by the warmer winter weather. Those bugs are heading for your house in full force.
Exterminators are seeing a break-out of bugs about a month earlier than normal. People throughout the county are already complaining about box elder bugs, wasps, termites, spiders, and ants. "You said you've been noticing a change in the bugs?" Action News asked Kevin Ray. "Yeah. There are spiders already in the house, ants are crawling in through the front door."
The warmer weather is waking up the tiny critters and they're looking for bed-and-breakfast. "There's not a food source outside yet and they're looking for a nice warm place," Extension educator, Mike Bush explained. Voids near the base of your house are great places for bugs to live and get in. "Most of the really bad pest problems I'm confronted with on controlling are man-made problems. It's things that people are doing wrong," Bob York of York's Exterminating told Action News. So if you're already getting bugged, fill cracks around your foundation, don't draw bugs in by using a lot of light at night, and cover all food in the house.
Scheme before you have to squish. "They're just coming in one-by-one pretty much. One here, one there," Ray shrugged. They'll continue to come because they're here early, and they have no where to turn for food and shelter, but inside your house.
Because of the earlier trend, the Yakima Extension Office is opening its Master Gardener Clinic about a month early. People can bring in their bugs at no cost and find out what they are and get advice. The clinic opens Monday at 9 a.m.
Exterminators are seeing a break-out of bugs about a month earlier than normal. People throughout the county are already complaining about box elder bugs, wasps, termites, spiders, and ants. "You said you've been noticing a change in the bugs?" Action News asked Kevin Ray. "Yeah. There are spiders already in the house, ants are crawling in through the front door."
The warmer weather is waking up the tiny critters and they're looking for bed-and-breakfast. "There's not a food source outside yet and they're looking for a nice warm place," Extension educator, Mike Bush explained. Voids near the base of your house are great places for bugs to live and get in. "Most of the really bad pest problems I'm confronted with on controlling are man-made problems. It's things that people are doing wrong," Bob York of York's Exterminating told Action News. So if you're already getting bugged, fill cracks around your foundation, don't draw bugs in by using a lot of light at night, and cover all food in the house.
Scheme before you have to squish. "They're just coming in one-by-one pretty much. One here, one there," Ray shrugged. They'll continue to come because they're here early, and they have no where to turn for food and shelter, but inside your house.
Because of the earlier trend, the Yakima Extension Office is opening its Master Gardener Clinic about a month early. People can bring in their bugs at no cost and find out what they are and get advice. The clinic opens Monday at 9 a.m.
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