Fall in Central Florida is a little different from other places. It might be a little cooler and the days are shorter, but it’s still very warm and humid with active pest activity.
Pests don’t hibernate in the winter or disappear in the fall. They just adjust to the changes in the weather. Ants, cockroaches, spiders, rodents, and other pests will start looking for a more permanent food, water, and shelter source as the weather changes.
Now is a good time in early fall to inspect your home and property to take care of small things to make sure pests don’t become a problem as the season progresses.
How Pests Adjust To The Fall Weather
Pests constantly adjust to weather changes such as rain, temperature, moisture, and food sources.
Fall in Central Florida often means a lot of rain and rapid plant growth. Shrubs are rubbing against your house, your gutters are full of debris, and there are small holes around your doors or where your utilities come in.
Even though it’s a different type of pest pressure than what you experienced during the height of summer, it’s still active.
Ants May Start Coming Inside
Ants are active all year long in Florida.
When the weather changes and the soil dries out a little, ant colonies may relocate. Homeowners may start noticing ants coming inside their home to their kitchen, bathroom, patio, garage, or other places where food or water may be available.
If you start seeing ants inside your house, it’s never a bad idea to wipe up crumbs or spills on the floor. You may also want to inspect around windows, doors, baseboards, or plumbing to seal entry points.
Killing the ants you see may be satisfying, but it won’t help the larger problem.
Cockroaches Are Still Active
Cockroaches are another pest Florida homeowners may still notice during the fall.
When the weather changes or cockroaches are looking for moisture, they may relocate closer to your home. Garages, bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, and other places that provide shelter may become appealing roach habitats.
Inspect door sweeps, garage doors, dryer vents, plumbing lines, and utility penetrations to seal entry points.
Since cockroaches need moisture to survive, leaking pipes, outdoor faucets that drip, and moist areas around your house can provide pests with a permanent water source.
Spiders May Be More Active
You may notice more spider activity around your porch, windows, outside lights, or roofline during the fall.
Spiders often relocate to places where there is an abundance of food. If moths, mosquitoes, flies, or other insects are regularly coming to your exterior lights, spiders have food readily available.
While you can wipe up webs, it may be more beneficial to reduce the number of insects that are attracting spiders to your home in the first place.
Pay special attention to your porch, doors, eaves, and other sheltered areas around the exterior of your home.
Rodents May Be Looking For Shelter
Although it’s mild in winter in Central Florida, rodents will still look for shelter as the weather changes.
Garages, attics, storage rooms, and even spaces inside walls can provide rodents with shelter from the rain and cooler nights.
Fall is a good time to inspect the exterior of your home for potential rodent entry points. Check for damaged screening material, gaps underneath doors, loose vents, openings around pipes, and places along the roofline where animals may be entering your home.
Any tree limbs that are touching or hanging over your roof should be pruned back when possible.
If you are hearing scratching in your attic or walls or notice droppings or signs of gnawing, taking care of the issue sooner rather than later can help prevent rodents from establishing themselves inside your home.
Don’t Forget About The Garage
When it comes to pest prevention, the garage is an area many homeowners forget about.
The garage door is opened and closed frequently, weather stripping may be worn around it, and you may have a lot of stored items that can provide pests with shelter.
This fall, take some time to clean around the edges of your garage. Make sure pet food and bird seed (if you store it) is kept in sealed containers. Remove any unnecessary boxes or clutter and inspect the weather stripping underneath the garage door.
By keeping your garage clean and sealing it off better, you are removing potential pest hiding spots and giving them less of a reason to hang around.
Trim Landscaping Away From Your Home
Landscaping in Florida grows up and grows fast during the summer months. By fall, your shrubs and palms may be much closer to your home than they were earlier in the season.
Trim vegetation away from your home so it isn’t resting on your house. Remove piles of leaves and other organic debris around your foundation and try to avoid having mulch be too deep or constantly wet around your house.
These areas can provide shelter, moisture, and easy access for pests.
You may also want to inspect your gutters and around your yard for any standing water sources.
Mosquitoes Are Still Around
Mosquito season doesn’t end with summer.
In Central Florida, it may still be warm enough for mosquitoes to be active into the fall, especially with continued rainfall.
After it rains, walk around your yard to dump standing water from plant saucers, buckets, toys, tarps, or any other containers you don’t need to hold water.
Keeping your gutters clean and removing standing water around your home can help reduce mosquito breeding sources on your property.
Don’t Forget About Termites
Termites are another pest homeowners should be mindful of even after summer.
Because of Florida’s weather, subterranean termite colonies are active all year long. Some types of termite activity may be more prevalent at other times of year, but it’s still a good idea to be aware of signs of termite activity during the fall.
Look for mud tubes, damaged wood, or other unusual changes to your home’s wood.
Since termites can be hidden for long periods of time, prevention and regular inspections may be key.
A Simple Fall Pest Prevention Checklist
There are some easy things you can do as the fall season approaches to help your home not be so appealing to pests:
- Trim vegetation away from your home.
- Remove leaves and debris away from your foundation.
- Inspect door sweeps and weather stripping.
- Repair damaged window screening.
- Seal obvious holes around pipes and utilities.
- Store food and pet food in sealed containers.
- Remove unnecessary clutter from your garage.
- Dump standing water after a rain.
- Repair leaking pipes and other moisture issues.
- Notice ant trails, roach sightings, droppings, webs, or other new pest activity.
It doesn’t have to be a complete change to your home and yard. You just want to remove some of the easy food, water, shelter, and entry sources pests are looking for.
Get Ahead Of Fall Pest Issues
Although it may not get freezing in fall in Central Florida, there are still changes to be aware of around your home and property. Pests adjust to those changes too.
Taking a little bit of time to inspect your home, clean up your landscaping, reduce moisture, and seal obvious holes can help you prevent small pest issues from becoming big pest issues.
If you are already noticing an issue with ants, cockroaches, spiders, rodents, or other pests, Superior Services offers professional pest control services to Ocala, The Villages, Gainesville, and other Central Florida areas.
Whether you are struggling with an active pest issue or want extra protection as the fall season comes in, taking care of it sooner rather than later can help keep your home more comfortable throughout the season.
Need help protecting your home this fall? Call 1-800-737-8266 or request service online.
