You gotta love the weather in Missouri. The only thing about it you can count on is that it will change. Around here, we tell out of state visitors if they don't like the weather, just give it a minute, it will change.
Local weathermen blame mild winters on la nina, a phenomenon that happens in the ocean from time to time. I don't know if la nina is to blame for the mild winter here, but I sure don't like shoveling snow, or scraping car windows, or driving on ice. So, for many Missourians, the mild winter of 2011-2012 was a welcome relief from the usual chaotic mess that occurs from heavy frozen precipitation and extremely low wind chills. My children were out of school in the 3rd week of May, where they usually are out in early or mid June, going to school in the summer to make up for 7-14 snow days that happened in January and February. Seems like a good deal for all of us here in the show me state.
Until spring, that is.
Record high temperatures here in March combined with a winter with fewer freezing temperatures brought out the bugs earlier this year, and in full force. What usually were baby spiders and small flies were mixed in with a large amount of mommy and daddy insects as well. It seems the bitter cold of winter never quite took hold and killed off the parents, and I believe there are more survivors than usual this spring. And in pre-historic sizes as well.
And now it's summer, and its too hot around here for the mammoth spiders to be outside, and guess where they set up camp? If the answer is in your house, read on! Here is some helpful information on keeping the crawling critters out of your home and yard so the exterminator doesn't have to make too many costly service calls.
Indoor bug control
- Clean up
- Sweep and mop the kitchen floor regularly to remove crumbs and anything else that might feed a starving ant colony. Mop with bleach water or Lysol to kill all germs and remove all sticky spots from Kool-Aid drips or other sugary beverages which attract ants, roaches, etc. Wipe the sugar up from around the coffee pot. And keep the stove top clean, including under the burners, which collects food over time and may provide a meal to something that might crawl into your meal later.
- Keep your dog food sealed, and rinse soda and beer cans/bottles before putting them out in the trash. These actions will help keep roaches further away from your trash can and out of the pet food, and thus further away from your home.
- Move your trash cans away from your house. Since trash attracts bugs, having a trash can near your house can increase the risk of infestation. You will see less flies in the house if you move it to the curb, and make sure the lid is on and stays on whenever possible.
- Keep the cap on the toothpaste, and rinse the cap and tube of toothpaste bits. Also, keep it wiped up off the sink fixtures, out of the sink, and off the toothbrushes. I've found that ants really like toothpaste, and will invade your bathroom in full force if they find it readily available.
- Weatherproof your home. Small cracks in door jams and window frames will give bugs an easy way in. Add weatherstripping and insulation, to seal off any unwanted openings, and spray these areas with a boundary spray to kill the ones who do find the opening.
- Wash the dog- Fido is a free ride for any insect coming into your home, especially fleas and ticks. Keep him clean and with a flea collar on, so he doesn't itch and you don't get infested.
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- Monkey Brains-otherwise known as hedge apples, but called Monkey brains,Hedge Ball, Horse Apple, or Green Brains based on size and appearance, These Soft-ball sized fruits of the Osage orange tree have been used for centuries as an in-home insect repellent. Although inedible for the most part, they have a pleasant smell and are very effective at repelling mosquitos, cockroaches, crickets, and ticks, just as effective on some insects as insecticide, research studies have suggested. They grow all over the U.S., and can be purchased online here.
- Vinegar and lemon juice -Mix 14oz of white vinegar and a half-cup of lemon juice to a spray bottle, then go crazy around the yard. This works great to repel mosquitos and biting flies, is very inexpensive, and will not harm any other plants in your yard.
- Bag o' water- Hanging a bag full of water above a door way or over a porch oning will trick bugs into thinking its going to rain because of the moisture in the air. This one lacks any research or proof, but old wives tales often have some truth behind them. If you have a zip lock bag handy, give it a try, you have nothing to lose unless the bag falls on your head while hanging it.
- Keep the grass cut- Long grass is an easy breeding ground for fleas and ticks, as well as the other bugs that eat them.
