Goodbye chilly, dreary winter days—spring is finally almost here! More sun, more fun, and colorful flowers are just around the corner, but sadly so are lots more bugs. But don’t fret, we’re here to prep you for all the annoying, biting creepy crawlies headed your way.
Below you’ll learn what bugs to expect, when to expect them, and how to get ready for each one. And don’t forget: the sooner you take the following precautions, the less time and money you’ll have to spend dealing with bugs for the rest of the year.
But first, you might be wondering…”when do bugs come out in spring?”
As soon as the weather starts reaching the 50s, you can expect to see a big uptick in the number of bugs entering your home and lawn, so there’s no time to waste. Here are 10 common spring bugs you should start preparing for now.
ANTS
Water, shelter, food—it seems anything and everything invites these hardy little bugs into our lives. From the stinging, biting fire ant to the destructive carpenter ant, roughly a 1000 species of ants live in America, each threatening to occupy your backyard and kitchen this spring.
How to Control Ants
Preventing ants is quite easy and straightforward: it all comes down to cleanliness and organization, both inside and out. If you mow as needed, clean up food and drink spills right away, properly store your groceries, and periodically de-clutter, you’ll give yourself the very best chance of avoiding ants this spring.
But ants are ants, so chances are you’ll still run into a few here and there. If they invade your home, a quick spray of plant-based Cedarcide Original Bug Spray will stop them in seconds. For your yard, apply Cedarcide Outdoor Bug Control twice, two weeks apart, at the beginning of spring to kill and repel ants. Then just apply monthly after that. Make sure to thoroughly soak any ant mounds in your lawn as well.
READ: How to Get Rid of Ants in 3 Steps | Cedarcide
FLIES
Whether they overwintered in your home or simply sneak indoors once things warm up, you can expect to see a lot more flies buzzing around inside over the next few months. Cluster flies, common house flies, horse flies—countless fly species explode with the arrival of spring flowers. Some bite, some spread germs, some are just super annoying, but regardless of the type nobody wants flies ruining their sunny season.
How to Control Flies
Cleanliness and sealing your home are the two keys to keeping flies outside where they belong. So before spring arrives, do a good solid spring cleaning, then do a quick check around your home for faulty window seals, screens, weather stripping, and cracks around plumbing and doorways. Use caulk or another sealant to address any issues you discover in the process.
MOSQUITOES
They bite, they buzz, they ruin outdoor fun—mosquitoes are just the worst! As the weather warms, mosquitoes will begin moving into your lawn looking for dense vegetation to hide, water to lay eggs in, and people and pets to bite. And the warmer and more humid it gets, the faster they breed. Luckily, if you take action as soon as the weather creeps into the low 50s, you can prevent the bulk of mosquito activity near your home.
How to Control Mosquitoes
To start, keep your lawn trim and take measures to prevent pooling water, including anything that could collect rainwater. If you have bird baths or other water features in your yard, empty or frequently clean them during spring and summer to remove potential breeding sites.
To protect against bites, apply Cedarcide Original to you, your family, and pets before venturing into mosquito territory. To kill and repel mosquitoes, do you and your family a favor and skip the poisonous chemicals and toxic pesticide services. After all, controlling mosquitoes without harsh chemicals is easy and effective.
Starting first thing in spring, treat your lawn with non-toxic Cedarcide Outdoor twice, two weeks apart, and then just once a month after that. Applying Insect-Repelling Cedar Granules to your lawn every 4–6 weeks will give you extra protection, too.
READ: How to Get Rid of Mosquitoes in 3 Steps | Cedarcide
FLEAS
Few bugs get out of control as fast as fleas. If a wild animal or other pet drops a single flea egg or adult near your home, you could be facing down 40,000 fleas in just weeks. Before you know it, they’re in your lawn, in your home, and all over your poor cat or dog. In fact, did you know an estimated 95% of the fleas in your home aren’t on your pet?
How to Control Fleas
Cross contamination is the big concern. If you get rid of all the fleas in your home but not your lawn—your flea problem will persist. If you protect your pet and lawn but not your home—the fleas will be back in no time. So if you want to get rid of fleas as quickly and inexpensively as possible, you’ll want to treat your lawn, home, and pets as needed until the fleas are gone. We suggest Cedarcide Original for pets and indoors, and Cedarcide Outdoor Bug Control for your lawn.
To control flea problems, apply Cedarcide Original to your dog every 1–3 days and before visiting flea problem spots, such as dog parks and areas with tall grass. For cats, just apply weekly. Make sure to spray your pet's bedding at least weekly, too.
For outdoor flea protection, apply Cedarcide Outdoor twice the first month, two weeks apart, and then just once a month from there. For added protection, apply Insect-Repelling Cedar Granules throughout your lawn and along your home's foundation every 4-6 weeks.
READ: How to Get Rid of Fleas in 3 Steps | Cedarcide
WASPS
In spring, queen wasps become much more active, building new nests in anticipation of their growing colonies. In other words, the chances of you, a family member, or pet having an unpleasant encounter with one of these stinging spring bugs is about to go waaaay up.
How to Control Wasps
Hitting wasps at the source—their hive—is the easiest and quickest way to cut down on the number of wasps on your property. Using plant-based Cedarcide Original and caution, heavily saturate any nests you spot in your lawn or attached to your home. The wasps will drop dead in just moments—it’s that easy!
To help prevent wasps and other unwanted spring bugs, spray your lawn and the exterior of your home with non-toxic Cedarcide Outdoor monthly. For best results, start with two applications, two weeks apart, right at the start of spring. This will control wasps in two ways: first by killing and repelling wasps directly, and second by removing their food source: other bugs.
WATCH: Cedarcide Original Kills Wasps FAST | Cedarcide
TICKS
Finding ticks near your home—or even worse, attached to you or your pet’s body—can be a scary experience to say the least. Unfortunately, these blood-sucking pests are only going to increase in number as spring approaches.
Speaking of tick bites, did you know most people remove ticks incorrectly, which can have serious repercussions? Click below to learn how to correctly and safely remove a tick.
WATCH: How to Correctly Remove Ticks | Cedarcide
How to Control Ticks
Preventing tick bites is the easy part—just apply Cedarcide Original to you, your family and pets as needed before venturing into tick territory (areas with woods, tall grass, pets, or wildlife). To keep ticks out of your yard, mow and trim bushes regularly and apply family and pet-safe Cedarcide Outdoor monthly. If this is your first application of the season, apply twice the first month two weeks apart to kickstart your tick protection.
SPIDERS
Spring means more insects, and more insects means more predatory bugs looking for a meal, including spiders. Thankfully most spiders are beneficial and harmless, helping us reduce overall bug populations without resorting to poisonous chemical-based pesticides. But if you’re dealing with venomous spiders or just can’t stand to see these creepy arachnids anywhere near your home, we’ll show you how to get ready for spring spiders below.
How to Control Spiders
The key to spider control is removing their food source, namely other bugs hiding in your home or lawn. For outside, keeping a clean and tidy lawn free of hiding spots like overgrown shrubs and wood piles will get you part of the way there. To directly kill and repel the bugs spiders feed on, apply non-toxic Cedarcide Outdoor Bug Control to your lawn twice at the start of spring, two weeks apart, and then once a month going forward.
The same goes for controlling inside bugs: it’s largely about cleanliness. If your home offers poorly sealed food and sugary drink spills, you’ll likely always struggle with bugs, including spiders. If you find yourself face-to-face with an unwanted bug inside, don’t sweat it—Cedarcide Original has you covered. A good solid spray should take care of them in just a few seconds.
ROACHES
While these infamously gross bugs can thrive indoors year round, spring’s warm, humid conditions lead to increased roach activity, with even more roaches looking to find a way inside your home. And if you think you’re immune to roach problems because of how or where you live, think again! The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) estimates that 63% of U.S. homes contain cockroaches in some form or another. Yikes!
How to Control Roaches:
If your home is well-sealed and consistently clean, you’re going to see far fewer roaches this spring. In addition to those two tips, treat your lawn with Cedarcide Outdoor Bug Control monthly to kill and repel roaches, and spray any you find indoors with our extra-strength bug spray Tickshield.
READ: How to Get Rid of Roaches in 3 Steps | Cedarcide
BOXELDER BUGS & STINK BUGS
These nuisance spring bugs don’t bite and cause little to no property damage in most cases, but they smell AWFUL and can be a serious headache for homeowners once spring rolls around.
Both stink bugs and boxelder bugs are known to overwinter in homes during the colder months and re-emerge once longer, sunnier days return. A few stink bugs or boxelder bugs is no issue, but they tend to congregate in the hundreds, sometimes thousands. These swarms get gross and smelly fast, as the slightest disturbance can cause them to emit their notoriously foul odor, a defence mechanism that attracts even more of these bugs from surrounding areas.
How to Control Stink Bugs and Boxelder Bugs
Sealing your home is everything when it comes to these pests. Before spring, walk throughout both the interior and exterior of your home, carefully searching for potential entry points like aging seals, broken screens, gaps, and cracks in walls and foundations. Then remedy these issues immediately.
Welcoming natural predators like birds is an effective and natural way to thin their numbers once these spring bugs arrive. Just make sure to avoid using synthetic fertilizers and pesticides in your lawn, as they can deter these helpful predators.
If you have questions about spring bugs or need help getting rid of them, contact us at 800-842-1464 or questions@cedarcide.com.
Other bug problems? Check out our library of pest control guides for quick, non-toxic tips for tackling troublesome bugs like fleas, ticks, mites, ants, mosquitoes, roaches, wasps, scorpions, Japanese beetles, and chiggers.