Hurricane season is peaking out, and the weather is getting cooler. Well, the weather is getting a little bit cooler. That means fall is almost here! Yay! But with the changing of the seasons, comes the changing of your pest control needs. That’s why today’s topic of discussion is some Florida fall pests, and what to expect from them.
Florida Fall Pests: Overview
Fall in Florida is pretty similar to spring. Sure we don’t see the explosion in plant life, but I’m talking weather-wise. It turns our broiling ninety-degree days into survivable eighty and, blessedly, sometimes even seventy-degree days! During autumn, Florida sees a busy pest control season. This is when a lot of our pests come out of their summer shelters and start looking for new sources of food, water, and heat for the oncoming winter.
So what we’ll do today is look at a few of the worst suspects, and what you can look for to see if you have an infestation.
Termites
Termites tend to swarm and look for new places to live and eat when the soil temperature reaches around 70 degrees, meaning that they’re perfect candidates for our Florida fall pests list. And one of the most common home infesters in Florida is the eastern subterranean termite. Their swarmers, essentially forward scouts, are about three-eights of an inch long including their wings. They have dark brown bodies and brownish-grey wings, with two solid veins running along their front. Their mandibles are also roughly the size of the rest of their head together. It only takes two swarmers to land near your home to create a new king and queen termite and for a new colony to begin.
The subterranean termite is a serious economic threat to your home and family and causes millions of dollars of damage every year in its range. In fact, one in five homes in high activity areas are estimated to be attacked, or have been attacked, at some point in their lives.
As for some infestation signs, one to look out for initially is looking for termite wings. That’s right, discarded wings, as I hinted towards above, may have indicated the landing of swarmers on your property. Once those swarmers find a home that they like, they drop those wings off and begin to reproduce. Other than that, look for things like mud tubes and, obviously, wood damage. Paint bubbling and peeling are often the first signs of termite damage, so stay on your toes if you notice that around your home.
Lawn Grubs
Another common type of Florida fall pests is the lawn grub. Japanese beetles cause extensive injury to lawns in the larval stages if allowed to infest your grass. What earns these guys a spot on a list of fall pests is their activity. These pests go dormant over the winter in their larval stage to grow into full-blown beetles. And much like bears and northern squirrels, they like to feast beforehand. This also means fall is the best time to treat your lawn for these little pests.
Lawn grubs are small, white creatures that curl up into a “C” shape when disturbed. They’re stout, worm-like insects with brown heads. They range from about three-fourths of an inch to two inches in length, depending on where you find them.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to know whether you have an infestation of grubs before the damage is clear. When springtime comes and your lawn starts to green back up and grow again, look for brown patches in an otherwise healthy area. This can be a sign of grub damage. To test this, grab a piece of your turf and lift. If it easily comes up, and you see diminished or damage root systems, you may just have some of these grubs going to town on your turf.
A final sign may be an abundance of grub-eating critters around your lawn. If you notice raccoons, jays, birds, and possums rooting around all hours of the night, you may just have a buffet’s worth of beetle grubs eating their fill of your roots!
Cabbage Loopers
Now, I’ve stuck to pretty common pests here on this list so far. But let’s round out our list of Florida fall pests with less of a heavyweight contender than the others. The “humble” cabbage looper.
The cabbage looper is an adaptable infester that can get into a large range of plants. This includes plants like cabbage, cotton, potato, spinach, celery, tomatoes, and soybeans. Collard greens and cotton are some of their favorites for reproduction. And while it’s rare that a cabbage looper infestation will wipe out a crop, they will certainly affect the amount you can successfully grow.
To identify their damage, look out for the caterpillars themselves. They’re light green in color and have a series of white lines or dots on their bodies. So if you see a caterpillar hanging out on the undersides of heavily damaged foliage, it’s easy to conclude that this is the pest you’re dealing with. Hand-picking them is usually enough, but you have to make sure to stay on top of it before it gets passed that point.
Florida Fall Pests: Conclusion
Honestly, this is a rough time of year for homeowners. Between the pests looking for shelter, warmth, or new sources of food, fall can become quite an onslaught. So if you think you have an infestation, be proactive. Most pest insects are fast breeders, to the point where even improperly used methods of pest control, especially chemicals, can lead to control-resistant infestations that will simply grow and continue to damage your home and possibly even your health.
Instead, get out ahead of an infestation. If you see any early signs, contact a professional pest control company in your area. Once again, preferably one that uses natural methods. Chemical insecticides not only have the potential for being out-bred by the sheer speed of insect reproduction but they’ve been proven time and again to be damaging to human health as well. Make the right choice and contact a natural pest control specialist today.
