Have you ever wondered: Where do bugs go in the winter?
It’s a valid question, especially here in Alabama; an often-irksome, overwhelming insect and arachnid population swarms and crawls about everywhere you look during the rest of the year. It’s almost as if the first chill of winter is a magician, snapping their fingers and making the bugs disappear.
If you’re curious to know the answer, keep reading. Our Birmingham bug control experts from Vulcan Termite & Pest Control, Inc. are gladly here to explain why bugs are seemingly absent in winter.
Where Do Bugs Go in the Winter?
You may have read the title of this blog and thought, “Don’t bugs just die off in the winter?”
Don’t bugs just die off in the winter?
Well, no; not exactly. While many bugs die off when cold weather starts, it’s mostly the adults that have completed their life cycle, having fulfilled their primary purpose of reproduction. Their offspring (the next generation), on the other hand, live on.
Some bugs can also survive the winter, depending on the level of care their young require or the seasonal patterns of their mating and life cycles.
So, now your next question is probably, “How do some bugs, mature or not, survive through the winter?”
How do some bugs survive through the winter?
There are a few survival strategies that insects employ during the winter:
- Finding a very warm hiding spot with ample food available.
- Entering a state of diapause: a hormone- and environment-triggered pause in an insect’s development that “freezes” it in its current stage (egg, larva, pupa, or adult), allowing it to prepare in advance of winter for survival.
- Going into a torpor: a short-term, semi-dormant state characterized by reduced movement and an easily reversible metabolic slowdown that is triggered by environmental stressors (such as cold temperatures), allowing an insect to conserve energy and survive brief periods of harsh conditions.
Usually, it’s a combination of strategy #1 with #2 or #3. Unless you want bugs in your house uninvited, the most common winter survival strategy of insects (listed as #1 above) is not your friend. Insects will choose the nearest warm human home as their refuge for the winter, whether they remain active or enter one of the above-listed hibernation-like states.
Now, we’ll share some bugs that will flee to your home for winter refuge (if they can).
5 Common Bugs Still Lurking Near You During Winter
#1 Cockroaches
If roaches have a warm place to go (i.e., inside your house) during the winter, they will, unfortunately, remain active. Even if you haven’t seen cockroaches in your home yet this winter, that doesn’t mean they’re not lurking out of sight under baseboards and in other nooks and crannies. Since roaches have so few needs (water once a week, food every few months, and they’re not picky eaters) and are excellent hiders, it’s almost a guarantee that you’ll have them in your house this winter without proper pest control.
#2 Termites
Next in our lineup are termites. Winter doesn’t stop termites by any means. If they’re subterranean termites, all they do is go deeper into the ground; otherwise, they do what roaches do and enter your home (if they aren’t there already). Of course, termites don’t just affect people with allergies or phobias like roaches do; they damage property. If you see any signs of termites on your property, call a termite control specialist immediately.
#3 Deer Ticks
Deer ticks (AKA black-legged ticks) are also active in the winter, especially in Alabama, where outdoor temps are below freezing for only so many days. When the temperatures are below freezing, deer ticks simply ride those days out by hiding in leaf litter, soil, or snow cover, then resume activity when temperatures rise above ~35–40°F.
If you have pets or spend a lot of time outdoors, continue checking for ticks and follow these other tick safety tips, even past the fall (when you’re traditionally warned about them the most), because deer ticks still pose a significant threat of transmitting Lyme and other diseases.
#5 Houseflies and Gnats
The final bug(s) we’ll discuss: the ever-so-annoying gnats and houseflies. Even though they will die if they’re outside, if they manage to make it inside your house and lay eggs before winter arrives (e.g., hitching a ride inside on new houseplants), they can remain alive there in the heated indoors when it gets cold outside.
Winter Bug Control That’s Worth It in Birmingham
No matter what insects are bugging you, you don’t have to stick out the winter with them in your house.
For over 40 years, Vulcan Termite & Pest Control, Inc. has been the trusted go-to pest control source for families in the Birmingham metro area. We offer highly effective solutions for household insect control, yard pest control, termite control, and other services at affordable rates. We integrate traditional and natural approaches, prioritizing your entire family’s safety and well-being.
Call us today at 205-663-4200 or complete the “Send Us a Message” form on our contact page to ask questions or hire us for all your pest control needs, whether it’s exterminating an active infestation or implementing effective preventative maintenance.
