How to Prevent Flies in the Winter

Fruit fly in Iowa - Springer Professional Home Services

Flies are typically seen as a common pest problem during the summer, but they can be a headache for Iowa homeowners in other parts of the year, too. No one likes to deal with flies inside their property. During the winter, their presence can be not only frustrating but confusing! This is because flies are actually one of the most common winter pests. To avoid having to deal with flies this time of year, the key is to know what’s drawing them indoors in the first place. The experts at Springer Professional Home Services are here to help—read on to learn all you need to know about winter flies!

Nuisance Flies in the Winter

There are two types of flies in particular that are a winter pest problem here in Iowa. They are:

  1. Fruit flies
    1. Tiny flies that are light in color with big red eyes
    2. Commonly found in kitchens or warm, moist areas like your trash or drains
    3. Lay eggs in rotting fruit, food, or plant material
    4. Often get indoors by hiding inside grocery bags
  2. Cluster flies
    1. Larger dark gray flies with yellow hairs on their thorax and overlapping wings
    2. Commonly found around windows, basements, or attics
    3. Group together in dark, secluded areas to go into diapause or hibernation
    4. Begin to re-emerge in the spring or on warmer days to regain heat and energy

Preventing Winter Fly Infestations

Similar to many pests this time of year, fruit and cluster flies cannot survive the cold temperatures during the winter. While cluster flies won’t reproduce on your property, fruit fly infestations can quickly grow and become a nuisance. By preventing these pests in the first place, you will not have to deal with them later. Take the following steps to control winter flies:

  • In the fall, it is imperative to seal off your home to keep cluster flies out. Do this by caulking cracks on the property. Sealing windows and doors is especially important, as these flies tend to enter homes under baseboards and window frames.
  • In order to eliminate fruit flies, it’s best to eliminate their food and shelter sources. You should always throw away rotting food from your pantry or fridge. Take your garbage outside regularly and use tight-fitting lids on your cans. Lastly, focus on sealing cracks and crevices around windows and doors near your kitchen.

Get Rid of Flies in Your Iowa Home For Good

If you have a fly infestation on your property this winter, you should hire a local fly control expert. At Springer Professional Home Services, we work hard to eliminate the conditions that lead to fly infestations in your home. To learn more, contact us today!

Repair Your Window Screens to Help Keep the Bugs Out

Fix torn window screens in Central Iowa - Springer Professional Home Services

Do you have an ongoing pest infestation that you can’t find the source of? In every season, pests take advantage of access points into our homes that are so small they go unnoticed. Some of these gaps are more easily noticeable, like leaky pipes and gaps underneath doors, but have you checked your window screens? Even a few fibers tearing in a window screen can provide a gap big enough for all kinds of pests to sneak through. If you’re looking to keep your home in Central IA in the best shape, free of pests, read on for advice from the Springer Professional Home Services team.

What Pests Come In Through Window Screens?

If you leave them the opportunity, all sorts of pests will use your broken window screens as entryways into your home. Windows tend to be an easy place for many species of insects and arachnids to climb through. Here are some of the pests you can expect in your home if you don’t repair your window screens in Central IA:

If you’ve been noticing any of these pests in your home lately, check around all of the windows in your home. You might find a torn window screen or a broken frame, leaving a gap for bugs to sneak through.

How to Repair Your Window Screens

Because many of the aforementioned pests thrive in the warmer seasons of the year, winter is the perfect season to start preparing your home to take on the new year pest-free*. Here are a few ways you can keep your windows in the best shape to prevent pests:

  • You can buy screen repair kits for under $3.00 at your local hardware store. They are easy to use, require no tools, and save you time and the expense of getting your entire screen replaced.
  • If your window screen is torn considerably or you don’t have one in the first place, window screens are a great investment to help keep pests out in every season.
  • In the winter, use weather stripping. Not only will it keep your home warmer and decrease your heat bill, it will also keep smaller pests like ants and ticks from sneaking through the gaps!

Professional Help Keeping Bugs Out in Central IA

If you have already fixed your windows but your pest infestation persists, it might be coming from a source that you haven’t discovered. For a complete property inspection to determine the sources of pests in your home, reach out to your local pest control company. The experts at Springer Professional Home Services can locate access points that go unseen to the untrained eye. For a free quote, contact our team today!

Bug Bite Identification Guide

Bug bite identification in Des Moines Iowa - Springer Professional Home Services

In the spring and summertime here in Iowa, insects are out in full force. While this is simply a fact of life, no one wants to deal with being bitten by bugs this time of year—or ever! Even in the fall and winter, there are several biting bugs to stay aware of. At Springer Professional Home Services, we know how distressing it can be to discover you’ve been bitten by an insect. Our pest control experts are here to help you learn what insects are likely to bite or sting, as well as what you can do to prevent them.

Bugs That Bite in Iowa

Whether they bite or sting, there are a number of pests and bugs that are likely culprits behind the red, itchy bumps on your skin. The most common ones we deal with here in Iowa include:

  1. Bed bugs. Bed bugs are quite elusive and good at hiding, so infestations may go undetected until the population is extensive. They primarily feed on blood when their host is asleep, so you may not catch them dining on you. You may, however, awake with their bite marks, which appear in lines on your skin and can be very itchy.
  2. Fleas & ticks. Parasitic insect infestations usually originate from an infested animal, then find their way to human victims. On occasion, people traveling through an infested area (for example, a wooded area with lone star ticks) will be attacked by these pests, as well. Pets are common carriers of these pests.
  3. Mosquitoes. Nationwide, mosquitoes are very active in the spring and summer. Sometimes, we may not notice their itchy bites immediately and assume whatever bit us is inside the building with us. In the case of these pests, by the time you notice they’ve fed on you, they have left the scene of the crime.
  4. Bees & wasps. These stinging insects are active in the spring and summertime in Iowa. While they’d rather keep to themselves, bees and wasps alike will sting when provoked. Wasps in particular are aggressive when defending their nests, and can sting you multiple times.
  5. “No see ums” (biting midge flies). Anyone who has been to marshy areas has probably been attacked by these insects. About the size of a freckle, biting midges are most active at dusk and dawn. Repellants may give some relief from these annoying blood feeders.
  6. Mites. Mites like dust mites are incredibly small and can best be seen under strong magnification. Most cases of mites biting people in their homes can be traced back to rodents or birds nesting in the home, as these animals are their preferred hosts. Unfortunately, when their regular food source isn’t present anymore, the mites will feed on people.
  7. Spiders. Despite the fear associated with spiders, most species do not bite. However, there are two spiders that will bite in defense: black widows and brown recluse spiders. A bite from either of these more aggressive spiders can be very dangerous.

Common Symptoms of Bug Bites

In general, the symptoms of bug bites or stings are very similar. Most commonly, symptoms will include red bumps at the site of the bite, itchiness, swelling, rashes, heat surrounding the bite, and other mild symptoms. When dealing with bug bites, it’s important to treat them carefully and also be on the lookout for more serious symptoms. Symptoms that may signal you are having a worse reaction—or even an allergic reaction—to the bites include substantial swelling in the eyes or throat, trouble breathing, and dizziness. Experiencing any of these symptoms requires an immediate trip to the doctor.

How to Prevent Bug Bites

If you are dealing with bug bites and cannot decipher where they are coming from, you could have a pest problem indoors. The best thing to do is to contact your local pest control experts. At Springer Professional Home Services, our experts will thoroughly inspect your property to determine any pest problems. From there, we’ll implement a pest control plan to keep the pests away for good. Contact us today to get started!

Seasonal Guide to Pest Infestations

Rodents are a common seasonal pest in Des Moines IA - Springer Professional Home Services

Everyone knows that pests are common in the spring and summer months, but what about in the fall and winter? Infestations actually can spike in the colder parts of the year as pests look to take shelter inside your property. To better prepare yourself for a possible infestation, it’s important to know which pests are common during certain parts of the year. Here in Iowa, we experience pest problems all year long. With information from the NPMA, the team at Springer Professional Home Services is here to share all you need to know about pest seasonality in Des Moines.

Fall and Winter Pest Problems

Our winter months are forecasted to get heavy snowfall this year. According to the NPMA, “Above-average snowfall in the northern part of this region may drive rodents indoors in search of shelter. The mild summer and winter forecast could increase cluster fly activity indoors.” Other pest problems to expect in the fall and winter months ahead include cockroaches and spiders. Because pests will want to shelter indoors to escape our cold temperatures, it’s important to protect your home from them entering.

Winter pests in the North Central United States map
 
Rodents
 
Flies

Spring Pests in Iowa

Pest activity springs back into action once winter comes to an end. Blooming flowers, warming temperatures, and heavy rainfall encourages pests of all kinds to resume activity and reproduce. Here’s the ones to keep an eye out for:

  • Termites. Every spring, termites leave their nests to mate and start new colonies. This is called “swarming”.
  • Ants. Certain ant species will forage for food in the warmer months. Rainy weather also drives ants out of their colonies and into homes for shelter.
  • Bed Bugs. While these are a year-round problem, increased traveling in the springtime always leads to an increase in bed bug activity.

Summertime Pest Infestations

The summer months in Iowa bring about a lot of pest activity. Summer temperatures cause many types of pest colonies to mature and grow in size. Stay on the lookout for the following pests:

  • Mosquitoes. These parasitic insects lay more eggs in the summer and tend to be our biggest pest problem this time of year.
  • Stinging insects. Wasps, bees, and hornets are at full force in the summertime. They can build nests near residential areas.
  • Flies. Summer is the peak breeding season for flies. They are infamous for being a nuisance at outdoor summer events.

Seasonal Pest Problems in Des Moines

The nature of our climate year-round leads  It’s important to know which pests to keep your eye out for in order to prevent a seasonal pest problem. At Springer, our residential and commercial exterminators can work with you to ensure you are protected from pests all year long. Call us today!