By Mike Isbell
University of Georgia
I finally got enough resolve to clean out the garage, and I
could
tell spring is here by all the pine pollen I swept out.
Spring-cleaning time is here. Spring “debugging” might be
another
way to look at it.
As you begin getting out of the house, be sure you get the bugs
out, too.
Other than ants making trails through our garage every now and
then, we don’t have a problem with insects. But thanks to a
relatively mild winter and plenty of moisture, pest populations
are likely to be high this year. Pest control workers already
are
bracing for a busy season.
Spring cleaning offers the perfect opportunity to locate and get
rid of the openings these insects can use and the places they
can
hide. Insects come into your home through tiny openings such as
cracks in the foundation, gaps around windows or holes in
screens.
Seal cracks, crevices
As you fix up your home this spring, look for cracks and
crevices, and seal them with paint, caulk, insulation or other
materials.
See that your screen doors and windows are in good repair. And
be
sure the screen door opens to the outside. Clean out your
fireplace and close the damper tightly.
Where you find spiders, be sure to get the web down, too. Fill
any holes the spider may have used as a retreat. Then use an
aerosol insecticide on the spot.
Sometimes spiders make their way into the bath and then just sit
there. Why don’t they get the idea that the bath is the last
place they should go explore?
Store wood outside
Firewood is especially attractive to insects, so never store
wood
in the house or basement during the summer.
Out in the yard, fire ants are busy foraging for food, so spring
is a good time to put out baits to get rid of them.
You may have read somewhere that ants can carry 10 times their
own body weight. Well, so what? Millions of years of evolution
and they still haven’t worked out how to build a truck.
(Mike Isbell is the Heard County Extension Coordinator with
the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences.)
