5 Common Winter Pests

With the grey and cold of winter upon us, we retreat indoors, enjoying the warmth of the fire. Pests like to do something similar and that means that they too, can enjoy the warmth and safety of our homes and businesses, outbuildings, sheds and garages.

But which pests cause a nuisance over winter?

#1 Rats, Mice and Other Rodents

In the top spot is the species group known as rodents. From rats to mice and squirrels, like us, they like to be warm and safe over the cold winter months. As well as sub-zero temperatures, rodents have to contend with rain and flooding. A common issue after a flood is that rats, forced from their natural habitats, seek shelter close to or in our homes and business.

With the potential to contaminate everything with a harmful bacterium, if you spot a rat or other rodent lurking close or in your property, seek our professional pest control services immediately.

#2 Cockroaches

Active all-year round, the three main species of cockroach found in the UK also spread a bacteria and pathogens that contaminate everything they come into contact with.

Some cockroaches prefer the humidity of the kitchen, others the cool of the cellar but whichever species it is, catching sight of a cockroach scurrying around is bad news. With the potential to breed quickly and ferociously, one cockroach quickly turns into thousands. It is not an infestation that clears up of its own accord.

#3 Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are back with a vengeance and like most insects and bugs, they will thrive where the environment is warm and there is plenty of food available. In the case of the bedbug, this is a blood meal that we provide on a nightly basis.

Bedbugs hide not just in a mattress, but in small crevices and behind skirting boards, electrical sockets and so on. They are a pest active all year round and not just a ‘summer pest’.

#4 Wood Boring Insects

The woodworm is not a worm at all but a beetle. Before the onset of winter, a female beetle bores into soft, damp wood and lays her eggs. As the larvae emerge, they eat the surrounding wood causing the tell-tale pinprick holes in the wood.

They do this in woodland but also in roof trusses and furniture. Flying in through open windows, they can cause untold damage if they remain undetected.

#5 Overwintering Bugs

From mated female wasps to eggs laid by flies, insects will spend the closing weeks of summer and autumn making sure there is a future generation of their species. Lying dormant all winter in a safe place, once spring arrives, they kick into action. And before summer arrives, you are under siege from angry wasps in a nest or inundated with flies.

Winter is a tough time for wildlife, with food in short supply and freezing temperatures to contend with. But when they mistake our homes and businesses as safe places to see out the winter, we have a problem.

Don’t share your home or business premises with a winter pest!