Home Improvement News Bureau

Summer's Battle Of The Bugs

Wet weather welcomes armies of ants, termites and mosquitoes

A year or so ago, bugs weren't doing too much to bug you.  With record droughts affecting most of the nation, insects were happy to stay put deep inside protected nests and we sailed through summer with hardly a swarm seen or a mosquito to be slapped.  But this year, things are different.  Wet weather has spawned a healthy and hungry insect population with a voracious appetite for people and homes.

According to nationally syndicated home improvement radio host Tom Kraeutler, callers to his weekly radio show have inundated the program with tales of insect invasions.  "I can't ever remember it being so bad.  We have calls about termite swarms almost every week.  The ants are taking over more than the kitchen and people don't even want to go outside for fear that mosquitoes will treat themselves to them for lunch," he said.

Kraeutler, who hosts "The Money Pit," spent almost two decades as a professional home inspector and knows first-hand what kinds of problems these less than friendly insects can cause.  "Insects need moisture to survive and they've had plenty of that this year," he said. 

Ann Waple, Research Climatologist for the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) sees good reason for the increase in insect invasions.  "June was the 7th wettest month on record for the nation, which go all the way back to 1865," she said.  Waple explained that about half the country has been usually wet, especially along the coast from Massachusetts all the way down to New Mexico. 

Waple says even States that have typically been dry are seeing usual precipitation.  "Texas has had the 10th wettest June on record and Colorado, which has had droughts for the last 4 years, is actually green this year," she said.  In fact, according to Waple, the only area of the country that is clearly in a drought is the North West with Oregon having a record dry month in June.

According to The Money Pit's Tom Kraeutler, moisture-loving termites are likely to cause the worst damage.  "Termites cause over 2.5 billion dollars a year in damages to America's homes," he said. 

Kraeutler, who was recently named on of the "100 Most Important Talk Show Hosts in America" by Talkers Magazine added that unlike the weather that spawns them, termite damage is not covered by homeowners insurance.

The case with West Nile carrying mosquito infestations isn't much better.  According to mosquito expert Rod Schmidt, Superintendent of the Middlesex County Mosquito Commission in New Jersey, even the droughts of recent years haven't slowed down the mosquito population.  "Actually the opposite is true.  "Mosquito eggs can survive for up to 5 years in dry soil and then hatch when soil gets wet.  They've have had years to build up egg deposits and we're now see record levels of infestation" he said.

Reducing mosquito populations is something you can help with says The Money Pit's Tom Kraeutler.  "Eliminate all standing water around your house, including cleaning your gutters, bird baths or anything else that holds water and allows mosquito eggs to hatch.  If you want to rid your yard of mosquitoes for an event like a party, use a fogger.  Bonide makes an easy to use mosquito fogger that runs on propane and can clear the area for up to 6 hours on a single application," he said.

NCDC's Waple clearly sympathizes with those who are suffering summer insect invasions.  "I even have ant colonies taking over my own backyard right now," she said.

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