Over-Wintering Pests, Fall Occasional Invaders: Stink Bugs, Box Elder Bugs, Cluster Flies

Today is September 14th, Mid-September, that time of year when the overnight temperatures start getting much cooler.

It is also the time of year when Over-Wintering pests start flocking to homes and other buildings in the late afternoon, to sunbathe and seek out their hiding spots, to hunker down for the Winter.

If you regularly see stink bugs, box elder bugs, Asian lady beetles or small flies on the outside of your building this time of year or inside of your buildings in the Spring, this is the time of year when you should have a professional treatment applied as a preventative barrier to the exterior soffits, eaves, gable vents, window and door casings, and exterior siding gaps or crevices.

Getting a jump on these pests now will significantly reduce the number of pests you may see inside over the winter and spring when they reemerge to head back outside.

They are great at sensing the temperature fluctuations being released around gaps and cracks in your home exterior, but they have a horrible sense of direction and can’t remember how they got inside. They use the same temperature sensing abilities when we turn on our interior heat sources or when natural sunlight warms the windows. They will leave their hiding spots and squeeze through ceiling or wall vents, around can light fixtures and even fireplaces or wood stoves that do not have a tight seal on the damper. That’s why you will often see them congregating around windows and doors. They feel the sunlight and think that is the way back outside.