September
Tip
1
Prepare Home Against Flies
Cluster flies and other types of flies also seek warmth to overwinter in your home. While these flies are essentially harmless, they can come out in large numbers and become an extreme nuisance, especially if they get inside. To prevent these flies from getting indoors seal all cracks and crevices and access points to the interior of your home. Keep all windows and doors closed, and make sure screens are intact. To prevent clustering behavior on the exterior of your home, treat your home and surrounding areas with an insecticide fly spray, and use fly traps and fly lights.
Products needed for Tip 1
Tip
2
Last Chance to Treat for White Grubs
If you have white grubs in your turf, apply curative treatments now. The grubs will be close to the soil, and once temperatures get cooler, it will be too late to treat for these destructive pests, so this is your last opportunity until next season when the grubs will be larger and harder to control.
Products needed for Tip 2
Tip
3
Set Up Glue Traps
Glue board traps are a great, chemical free option to keep around your home when the weather forces both us and insects indoors. Place these traps in infrequently used areas (like storage areas, basements, garages, etc.) to keep spiders, centipedes, silverfish, and other crawling insects (and even rodents) at bay.
Products needed for Tip 3
Tip
4
Watch Out for Stink Bugs
Stink Bugs, like boxelder bugs and ladybugs, will be seeking shelter and warmth to overwinter in. Now is the time you will begin to notice them more. Inspect the exterior of your home and surrounding areas often, so you can treat for them before they become a problem and gain access to your home.
Products needed for Tip 4
Tip
5
Be on the Lookout for Boxelder Bugs and Ladybugs
Boxelder bugs and ladybugs seek warmth in the cooling temperatures, so start inspecting the exterior of your home. They are often found on the sunny sides of your home, resting on the exterior and working their way indoors. They may get inside, so make sure all window screens and door sweeps are intact and there are no gaps in the exterior of your home. You can also treat the exterior of your home with a pyrethroid insecticide.
Products needed for Tip 5
October
Tip
1
Evaluate Your Home for Possible Pest Entry Points
The cooler weather alerts pests, including rodents, to seek out warm shelter for the winter months. You might already be experiencing this with ladybugs, box elder bugs or stink bugs trying to get indoors, so it is important to try to figure out where they may be coming in or where they could come in to your house. Check especially around windows and doors, near utility access points, and even in cracks or gaps in siding, and fix these access points accordingly.
Products needed for Tip 1
Tip
2
Ticks Are Still Active Now
The weather is still nice enough to spend a good amount of time outdoors enjoying cooler temperatures for fall activities, so it is important to continue to protect yourself, your family, and your pets from ticks. Ticks are still active now, so tick prevention is extremely important. Remember to wear long sleeves and long pants when possible, and check yourself, family, and pets thoroughly for ticks after spending time outside in heavily wooded or brushy areas.
Products needed for Tip 2
Tip
3
Watch Out for Yellow Jackets, Hornets, and Wasps
You may be seeing more wasps and hornets around at this time of the year, especially when picnicking or eating outside. Populations of yellow jackets, hornets, and wasps peak in fall, and the food sources these insects rely on start to become scarcer, which makes these stinging pests search out new food including sweets (soda, juice, candy, sweets, pastries) and protein sources (meat, dairy). Keep garbage cans closed tightly, do not leave food or drinks outside or unattended, and search for a nest on your property and treat accordingly.
Products needed for Tip 3
Tip
4
Fruit Fly Populations High This Time of Year
It is the end of the growing season, so your bounty might be great from your vegetable garden. This also means fruit flies might become a problem, especially if you are leaving your produce out on the counter. Some vegetables might already have fruit fly eggs in them, which may hatch in your home. It is easy to get rid of fruit flies; simply do not leave produce out on the counter (cover or refrigerate), and cover all compost bins or garbage cans tightly. If you have an active population in your home, set up a few fruit fly traps to monitor the population while you eliminate the source of the infestation.
Products needed for Tip 4
Tip
5
Vacuum Up Overwintering Invaders
Lady bugs, box elder bugs, stink bugs, and other insects may be congregating around your home and making their way indoors. Once inside, there is not much they can do except annoy you. The easiest way to get rid of them is by vacuuming them up. However, it is important to figure out where these insects have gotten access into your home and repair any cracks or gaps.
November
Tip
1
Seal All Openings That Allow Pests Indoors
This tip is really the key to preventing indoor pest problems in the winter, since insects and rodents are looking for warmer places to take shelter. Insects and other pests can get into your home or structure from nearly any type of opening, from a tear in your screen to a small gap in a vent. Doing a thorough exterior inspection and repairing all openings, cracks, gaps, including all exit and entry points of utilities and vents, damaged screens, damaged or missing door sweeps, etc. will go a long way in preventing pests from getting inside.
Products needed for Tip 1
Tip
2
Combat Potential Roach Problems With Sanitation
Some species of cockroaches seek warmth in the fall and move indoors. Keeping your kitchen very clean and free of spills, crumbs, grease, etc. and storing food properly will help create a food-free environment and make your home a less inviting space for cockroaches.
Products needed for Tip 2
Tip
3
Prepare Your Home Against Mice
Mice tend to become a problem for homeowners in the fall when temperatures drop and the mice seek out warm shelter. They can get into gaps as small a 1/4 inch. While you may have already sealed up all gaps and cracks with fine mesh or other material, you can also try to make your yard and home uninviting to mice to begin with. A clean, maintained yard, well trimmed bushes and shrubs, and trimmed trees can be a deterrent for mice because there is little shelter in our yard to begin with, so they may skip your yard all together.
Products needed for Tip 3
Tip
4
Store Pesticides Correctly for Winter
If your pesticides and other chemicals are stored in a shed or garage, consider moving them to a more temperature-controlled space, like a basement. The change in temperature can degrade the chemicals so they will not work as well the following season.
Tip
5
Don't Store Firewood Indoors
The warmth of your home will cause beetles that live in the wood to emerge, and also invites other pests like spiders and ants that may be in the wood pile, into your home. Avoid this by only bringing in wood that you plan to burn that day.