Have you seen pests in your home this fall? They’re going to continue forcing their way into our homes during the fall months.
PJ Liesch, the director of the UW-Madison Insect Diagnostic Lab and state entomologist, also known as the Wisconsin Bug guy, shares more about what insects we can expect to see and covers some spooky behaviors they have that actually helps farmers just in time for Halloween.
There are quite a few insects active now that fall is underway. Insects such as boxelder bugs, multicolored asian lady beetles, and even stink bugs have been crawling around looking for places to hunker down for the winter.
“Oftentimes, these insects will go to rocky bluffs or cracks and crevices around your home’s siding,” says Liesch. “While the cracks may not be very big, if they can get in, they can be a bit of a nuisance in your house during the winter.”
The multicolored asian lady beetle is one we often see now that looks similar to ladybugs. While they may be a bother around your home, they are actually beneficial to crops. If you have these particular beetles out in your soybean fields, they’re helping to feed on the aphids and other small insects.
To prevent insects from getting into your home however, check your foundation for potential cracks as well as doors or windows. Using caulk, spray insulation, and replacing any bad weather stripping are all ways to save your house from these insects.
“There’s a lot of insects out there and related creatures that folks might consider spooky,” adds Liesch. “A lot of them are really quite harmless though to humans.”
A good example of that, which is very common this time of the year, are spiders called orb-weaver spiders. These spiders are similar to the spider in Charlotte’s Web. While they are often big, plump, and intimidating in their webs, they are not harmful to humans and fit the Halloween season.
Liesch adds, “There are some insects that are truly kind of spooky when you think about what they do. To an entomologist, this is pretty cool stuff. One example here from Wisconsin is a type of wasp called cicada killer wasp.”
The female cicada killer wasp will hunt cicadas and sting them, but not kill them. She paralyzes them, flies them back to her nest, and then feeds them to her young while they’re still alive. While that’s quite spooky, so are the tiny wasps that are so small they look like gnats.
These smaller wasps are relevant to farmers as they target aphids on crops. The females inject their eggs inside the aphids, the eggs hatch, and the wasp larva consumes the aphid from the inside, killing it. These dead aphids maintain a plump base shape which is called mummies.
“If you’re a farmer and you learn to recognize what mummies are, that lets you know that there are a lot of beneficial wasps in your field helping you out and you may not need to spray an insecticide for example,” adds Liesch.
While the spooky season brings insects out and about, so does hunting season and Thanksgiving. While you may think of spring being peak tick season, deer ticks actually have a long life cycle and the new batch of adults comes in early fall.
“A reminder that if you are heading out to the tree stand or doing some hiking or hunting this time of the year that deer ticks are active, and also they can be active pretty late into the year, especially if it’s warm enough. If there is no snow on the ground and it’s warm enough, you could bump into ticks. Take precautions, use repellents, and do tick checks if you’re heading out to the tree stand this fall,” says Liesch.
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