Garden Gossip-Fall Home Invaders

Fall Home Invaders

Lori Bowling

Retired University of Kentucky Extension Agent

For The Ashland Beacon

As days get shorter and temperatures start falling, insects start looking for a warm, safe place to overwinter. The most common insects are box elder bugs, Asian lady beetles, brown marmorated stink bugs, and cluster flies. You may notice a large number of these insects starting to congregate on the south and west sides of your home. They are looking for any crack or crevice they can crawl into for protection. Other than being a nuisance, these insects do not bite (except Asian lady beetles, which can bite if they feel threatened or are seeking moisture), eat stored foods or fabrics, or lay eggs in your house. However, they are very annoying when they decide they want to share our living space.

To help prevent these unwanted guests, you can seal any exterior cracks and crevices with caulking. This is helpful on older homes with clapboard siding, but homes with vinyl siding can be more challenging. Vinyl siding and soffits are nailed loosely so they can expand and contract, which allows these home invaders to find their way in around the edges. Because our homes are heated, they don’t stop at just getting under the siding panels; they will seek out the warmth of our homes. Some of the most common areas they find to get in are around baseboards, doors, windows, electrical outlets, electrical fixtures, heating and cooling vent openings, and other similar pathways.

Using insecticide applications can be effective on the insects you see in the home or on the outside of the home, but once the insects get into the walls and ceilings, the insecticides aren’t able to reach them.

Spraying the outside walls of the home, especially the south- and west-facing sides, with a long-lasting insecticide can certainly help reduce the number of insects that make it inside. You can also spray inside your home around your doors and windows with an insecticide approved for indoor use. One example of this type of product is one containing bifenthrin as the active ingredient, such as Ortho Home Defense, but there are many products on the market. You just need to be sure to read the label, adhere to the directions, make sure the insect you are targeting is listed on the label, and follow all safety protocols.

There are also some non-chemical controls you can use inside your home that may be just as effective. These are derived from plant and mineral sources. With any spray you choose to use, be sure that you read the label completely before applying it.

Using your vacuum to suck up these unwanted pests is also effective, but be aware that they can cause your canister to develop an odor, so you will want to clean it regularly and wash it thoroughly. Since these home invaders are attracted to light, you can also try putting a pan of soapy water under or near a light source. As they seek out the light, they will fall or crawl into the pan of soapy water and die.

Staying proactive rather than reactive against these pests is very important. If you had trouble last year with any of them, don’t wait until you start seeing them this fall to begin control measures. Just assume they will be an issue again this year and go ahead and get started on whatever control method you plan to use, whether it is a chemical control or a biological/natural control. Your proactive approach will hopefully keep the number of unwanted guests in your home down to a few.