Spring brings warm temperatures, enjoyable days outside and, unfortunately, bugs coming alive in your house! You may wish insects would just die over the cold winter months, but a world without them would end within 50 years, according to entomologists at the University of Arizona. Up to 90 percent of the food we eat comes from flowering plants that rely on insects for pollination, meaning we need them to survive the winter!
How Bugs Survive The Winter
Insects like Asian beetles, boxelder bugs and stink bugs survive the winter because of diapause. The state master gardener coordinator at the University of Illinois defines diapause as an inactive state where an insect’s metabolic rate drops to one tenth or less. It survives off stored body fat while producing alcohols that act as antifreeze. The alcohols allow its body temperature to drop below freezing without damaging its cells.
Why Bugs Wake Up In Spring
The shorter daylight hours in fall trigger diapause. Warmer spring temperatures end it and wake up insects. If insects crawled into your home in the fall, they’ll sometimes wake up in winter if the sun is heating up the sides of your house. They awaken in full force once spring is here to stay!
Preventing An Insect Invasion
There isn’t much you can do in spring to prevent Asian beetles, boxelders and stink bugs from invading your house. Fall is when you should seal openings and cracks by your windows, doors and walls to keep insects from crawling inside. Right now, vacuum up bugs as you see them in your home and resolve to try our DIY pest prevention tips next fall.