Serving Memphis, Cordova, Germantown & Collierville TN
Living in Memphis means trying to beat the summer heat, but the 2022 season has been incredibly intense. Memphis residents experienced triple-digit temperatures on back-to-back days in mid-June, the peak of the hot weather that has been taking place across the southern region. Hot weather isn’t just uncomfortable and possibly life-threatening. It has an impact on the activity of pests and insects, too. Read on as your Memphis pest professionals at AAA Termite & Pest Control explain how extreme heat can cause an influx of pests in your home.
What happens to insects during hot weather?
Insects are cold-blooded creatures; this is also why insect activity is minimal during the winter. Many species of insects die out or go dormant when the weather turns cold. By contrast, when temperatures climb, this can accelerate the life cycle of certain varieties of insects. Thus, the population of these species can grow at an exponential rate during the summer.
Also, when the weather gets warm, the body temperatures of insects change accordingly. Most insects become more active during the summer. This, combined with the decrease in precipitation compared to other seasons, leads insects to seek moisture and food, which can be found inside your home.
These species of insects become more pesky when it’s warm
- Flies: Certain types of flies thrive when it is warm, including nuisance flies and filth flies. Nuisance flies can be bothersome with their buzzing or swarming. They can also spread disease to people and animals through their bites. Filth flies also are carriers of disease because they reproduce in excrement, food waste, or garbage. The housefly classifies as both a nuisance fly and a filth fly; it literally embodies the definition of a pest. Houseflies already reproduce at a rapid rate. In a 21-day lifespan, a female can lay up to 900 eggs, which hatch in about 20 hours. However, when the temperature hits at least 99 degrees Fahrenheit, housefly eggs can hatch in less than 8 hours and mature into adult flies in only four days.
- Stinging insects: What do yellow jackets, wasps, and hornets have in common? They’re all common types of stinging insects in Memphis. You don’t want to get stung by any of them. And, when temperatures reach extreme levels, all three species become more aggressive. Yellowjackets also significantly increase their activity level when it’s scorching outside. A yellowjacket nest can double in size in only a week once temperatures crest 90 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperatures stay above 90 for several weeks, a nest with 100 yellowjackets could reach a population of several thousand in only a month.
- Mosquitos: Mosquitos respond to heat and moisture, but if extreme heat coincides with a drought, it can lessen the amount of these biting insects. Mosquitos thrive in standing water, and many small, shallow areas of water can dry out during a prolonged heat wave, denying mosquitos these areas as potential breeding grounds. However, once temperatures drop back into the 80s, mosquitos become more active and feed more frequently.
Pest Control Services in Memphis and Cordova in Tennessee
Don’t let pests disrupt your good times this summer. Professional pest control is most effective year-round, but especially during the hottest and warmest time of the year when temperatures are at their highest and troublesome insects like these are most active. Professional pest control treatments help reduce the number of flies, stinging insects, and biting insects you experience inside your home.
We also offer specific mosquito control treatments in Cordova and Memphis. For more information, call the office of AAA Termite & Pest Control today at (901) 737-7878 to schedule a consultation with one of our pest control technicians.