Insect control: A homeowner’s guide to surviving the spring season

METRO DETROIT — The spring season is a safe haven for Michiganders.

It’s not only a prequel to the beautiful summer months, but it’s also a season people tend to look forward to as soon as the rainfall and cold fronts of September come around.

But as warmer weather approaches, the spring season showcases one problem most homeowners find themselves having to tend to.

“With the warm weather last week, people are seeing a lot of wasps and different types of bees around the house, and spiders, pavement ants, the tiny sugar ants and carpenter ants are starting to emerge,” Michael Kharsa, who works for CJB Pest and Mosquito Control in Farmington Hills, said April 18.

Kharsa has noticed an influx of calls as the season rolls around.

Ants, bees and spiders tend to be the primary culprits during this time, especially with insects trying to find safety from the rainfall.

Michael Mangino, owner of What’s Bugging You in St Clair Shores, has noticed this with his recent jobs.

“With ants, they’re coming into houses a lot more,” Mangino said. “A lot of it is probably attributed to our high water table, I imagine. They’re going into houses and finding paradise there.”

The insects’ ability to make their way into residences is a reminder to have your house sprayed on a consistent basis throughout the year.

CJB Pest and Mosquito Control offers a tri-seasonal package for spring, summer and just before the winter months to treat any issues that homeowners might face.

Kharsa said CJB focuses on not only eliminating the threat but also on preventing insects from making their way into the house.

“When we come out, we’re going to treat around your interior and exterior part of your walls to force the insects from the structure, and we’re going to put a perimeter service around the exterior to prevent the insects from coming in,” Kharsa said. “Basically, we’re providing a barrier and forcing the ones from the walls outside.”

Pest control doesn’t stop with treating an insect problem; it can also provide a home inspection, to some extent.

While CJB and What’s Bugging You, and many other pest control companies, offer spraying services, a technician will also walk a residence with a homeowner and discuss areas that might not only be hot spots for insects but also should be treated to prevent future home issues.

Mangino said the inspection is a vital part to the service he provides.

“Of course, walking with people around their house and pointing out things that could be beneficial, like caulking some areas, pitching the water away from the homes is a big thing, and trimming back foliage away from the house,” Mangino said. “Those are all things that contribute to keeping the longevity of the home, as well as keeping pests away.”

For those who are motivated to do it themselves, safety is the primary concern when dealing with pest control products.

It’s plausible for minor problems, but consistent issues should be treated by professionals, especially if the homeowner has pets or small children.

“The right way to go about it is to read and understand the label 100%,” Mangino said. “The label is the law in our industry, and that’s for good reason because you can get hurt. You can hurt somebody else, and some of these products that people are able to buy online are traditionally for professionals only. There are some great products available that the public can seek out and find, but a lot of them tend to go away in our industry because homeowners misuse them.”

As the spring season approaches, active insects should be an important reminder to keep up on pest control treatment throughout the year.

The rain and warmth in spring calls for treatment due to the insects becoming active, but an important time frame to keep an eye on is before October.

To keep the insects from getting “weathered in,” when they get inside the walls due to the cold temperatures, a service spray before winter is needed.

But like most services, the best way to resolve the problem is to keep up with it regularly.

“As far as spider treatments and general pest control, that’s more of an exterior spray. If people want it to remain as general pest free as possible, typically spring, summer and fall treatments,” Mangino said. “If they wanted any sort of treatment on the inside, what I would recommend, at the very most, would be early spring with light treatment on the inside with cracks and crevices.”