You've raised your glass, welcomed in the new year, and you're looking forward to a fresh start. It's all so wonderful, but does something feel off? The answer is crawling across your basement floor, creeping up your walls, and sneaking through cracks: bugs. Unfortunately, the winter is not a critter-free time of year. The United States is home to many winter-thriving insects, and Wondercide is here to help you navigate them!
Why are bugs still thriving in the winter?
There are several reasons why you might stumble across a creepy crawler this winter. The first is that some bugs are able to withstand freezing temperatures. There’s a common misconception that most insects can’t survive in the cold, and this is unfortunately untrue. Some insects have an “antifreeze” quality that allows them to survive in mild winter climates. These insects are called “freeze tolerant” and have developed ways to control their body as they freeze. Some insects can manipulate where ice crystals form in their body to ensure their organs and other vitals are untouched.
Snow can also be beneficial to some bugs who burrow in the soil. Snow keeps a constant blanket over the ground that insulates the soil, keeping the temperatures consistent and stable for insects.
Unfortunately, as temperatures continue to rise from climate change, the warmer winters allow for more bugs to stay active longer than normal. Milder winters allow for insects that normally thrive in warmer temperatures to stick around a little bit longer until the conditions get too harsh later in the season. For example, ticks can survive as long as the temperature stays above freezing (32 degrees). In recent years, the average temperature in the northeast, where ticks thrive, has stayed around 42 degrees, an adequate temp for these little blood suckers.
And, of course, bugs find it easier to survive in the winter when they take shelter in people’s homes. The following are common bugs of winter.
Which bugs could be cohabitating with you this winter?
- Stink bugs: These nasty bugs love to take shelter in your home during the colder months. They’ll sneak in through an open door or window and release a stench when provoked.
- Snow flies: You’ve heard of fruit flies, but have you heard of snow flies? These spider-like insects are equipped for snowy regions of the US at temperatures between 20 and 32 degrees.
- Ticks: Despite the cold temperatures, ticks could remain on the hunt for blood. They can be hiding under snow, leaf litter, and brush. They can also hitch a ride with animals like deer and mice, and hopefully not your pets.
- Roaches: During winter, roaches like to hide in warm, damp areas of homes like behind kitchen appliance, in wall cracks, under skinks, around pipes, in basements, inside cabinets, near drains, within vents, and other areas of the home.
- Ants: On the hunt for scraps of food and shelter inside, the ants will come marching into your home. They sneak in through cracks in the walls, open doors, or holes in your home’s infrastructure.
- Silverfish: These slithery silver bugs love to invade homes and trigger people’s allergies. They’ll slide in through cracks and holes where they can and startle your human house guests as they scurry across the floor.
- Earwigs: These foliage-loving nocturnal creatures will be eyeing your home as their winter destination. They often hide inside houses to take shelter and look for food.
- Fleas: Yes, fleas can thrive in the winter, too. It can take up to five days of consistently freezing temperatures to kill an adult flea. They love to be in winter grass, leaves, soil, under brush, and bushes. And they love hitching a ride with pets.
- Gnats: Gnat may seem ever-present. They can enter your home through cracks and gaps. They love trash cans, clogged drains, ripened fruit, and potted plants and wet soil in houseplants.
- Fruit flies: Guard your produce this season folks, the fruit flies are out to play. These frustrating flies feed on the sweetness of your fruit and wine.
- Moths: These winged insects don’t take the season off. Beware of moths who like to chew on your sweaters and furniture. Certain species of moths, such as winter moths, spend the winter season out and about with white and tan wings to set them apart from other species. The winter moth is an invasive species of moth that can cause damage to trees and vegetation.
- Spiders: While spiders have many environmental and ecosystem benefits, they do cause a jump scare for most people when they find one crawling in their house. You may be unsettled to learn that spiders don’t go away for the winter.
How to evict winter bugs
Ready to show winter bugs the door and prevent them from coming back? Evicting them is simple with the right approach and the right tools. Here’s how to take charge and keep your home protected. Powered by nature, Wondercide products do the job – proven to work.
Bye roaches, stink bugs, earwigs, silverfish, and carpet beetles!
Wondercide's Ant & Roach Spray and Indoor Pest Control for the home will help you repel ants, roaches, spiders and flies as well as kill moths, stink bugs, earwigs, carpet beetles, silverfish, fruit flies, fleas, and ticks. With your choice of either peppermint, cedarwood, lemongrass, or rosemary scents, the Ant and Roach Spray has your back against unwanted critters.
Bye ticks and fleas
To combat ticks or fleas, millions of people have been turning to Wondercide’s Insect Repellent for the family. For the pets, they choose Wondercide’s Flea & Tick Spray, Peppermint Collar, or Spot On, and shampoo – all will work wonders. Wondercide’s proven, plant-powered pest protection is cruelty-free and safe to use around pets and the family when used as directed.
Bye flying insects like fruit flies, moths, gnats, and mosquitoes
And for those air bound pests, Wondercide’s Flying Insect Trap for the home will help dispose of any winged creatures who sneak inside through open doors. The trap uses a Blu-V™ light to lure in flying insects and then traps them in a sticky adhesive cartridge. Without any zaps or annoying noises, the trap can sit in any room in the house and catch flies for you. You can sit back and relax with a hot chocolate by the fire, and the Flying Insect Trap will take care of business for you. All that’s required of you is to plug it in!
And we’ve got those fruit flies covered too! Wondercide’s Fruit Fly Trap is a self-contained mechanism similar to the Flying Insect Trap. The trap can be placed anywhere in the home where there might be fruit or open bottles of wine, and will capture and drown these invasive flies.
As the cold season unfolds, don’t let clever bugs outsmart your winter plans. With a proactive approach, you can keep your home protected and your family at ease. After all, the only thing that should be cozy this winter is your home, not the bugs.
