The field year

The field year

1. 01 January

   Rodents indoors, termites still feeding below

   January is the quietest pest month in the metro, and a good month for work. Rodents are fully established indoors by now, and termites keep feeding in soil beneath the frost line. Inspection bookings are easy to get and treatment schedules are open.

   • Rodents
   • Brown recluse (indoors)
   • Overwintering insects

   What to do now

   1. Book the termite inspection now: winter appointments are the easiest of the year.
   2. Finish the exclusion work the fall rodent push exposed.
   3. Check attic and garage storage with gloves on.
   4. Walk the exterior after any ice storm and clear debris off the foundation line.
2. 02 February

   Last full month of rodent season: plan the spring work

   February closes out the indoor rodent peak and sits weeks ahead of termite swarm season. Booking now puts inspections and treatment ahead of the spring rush, while exclusion work is still practical before the soil softens.

   • Rodents
   • Brown recluse
   • Wildlife seeking shelter

   What to do now

   1. Schedule the termite inspection before March books out.
   2. Repair door sweeps and utility gaps; ask about weep-hole screening without blocking drainage.
   3. Clear leaf litter and brush away from the foundation.
   4. Check soffits and gable ends for the winter wildlife that has been using them.
3. 03 March

   Swarm season opens

   March is when subterranean termites begin swarming, usually after the first warm rains, and ants resume in earnest. If the building has not been inspected in the last year, this is the month to book it, because swarmers indoors are how most people first learn there is a colony.

   • Subterranean termites (swarming)
   • Ants emerging
   • Spiders active outdoors

   What to do now

   1. Watch for swarmers indoors and discarded wings on windowsills.
   2. Get the termite inspection done if it has been more than a year.
   3. Move firewood and stacked lumber away from the structure.
   4. Set up the mosquito plan before the season starts producing.
4. 04 April

   Peak swarms; mosquitoes and roaches wake up

   April is the busiest termite-swarm month and the month mosquito and roach activity starts building. Spring rains leave standing water across the metro (reservoir-side and irrigated lots feel it first), and the first generation of the year establishes the summer population.

   • Subterranean termites
   • Mosquitoes beginning
   • Cockroaches building
   • Ants

   What to do now

   1. Start the mosquito program before the population establishes.
   2. Dump and drain everything holding water after every rain.
   3. In multifamily buildings, schedule the spring shared-run service now.
   4. Watch kitchens and baths for the first roach trails of the season.
5. 05 May

   Biting season and fire ant mounds

   May is when outdoor space becomes contested: mosquitoes along the reservoirs and irrigated lawns, ticks on shaded edges, fire ants on the newest streets. Roach activity in shared-wall buildings is rising with the heat, and service demand spikes.

   • Mosquitoes
   • Ticks
   • Fire ants
   • Cockroaches
   • Wasps starting

   What to do now

   1. Keep the mosquito visits on schedule, because gaps between applications are what undo a program.
   2. Treat fire ants at yard scale rather than mound by mound.
   3. Check the lawn edge and fence rows for ticks after yard work.
   4. Empty saucers, tarps and gutters weekly.
6. 06 June

   Peak activity across the board

   June is full strength: mosquitoes, ticks, fire ants and wasps outdoors, cockroaches and rodents pressing indoors around kitchens and cool plumbing. Consistency of treatment matters more than intensity in this month.

   • Mosquitoes
   • Ticks
   • Fire ants
   • Cockroaches
   • Wasps
   • Scorpions

   What to do now

   1. Keep treatment intervals short in the wettest stretches.
   2. Seal the siding-to-slab gap: this is when scorpions start showing up indoors at night.
   3. Manage refuse on a fixed schedule; heat multiplies the sanitation problem.
   4. Check door sweeps and screens before the AC runs full time.
7. 07 July

   Heat holds everything at peak

   July is the hottest month of the pest year. Mosquitoes hold in the shade, roach activity in multifamily and restaurant stock peaks, and wildlife starts looking for cool space, attic vents and crawl spaces included. Storm-driven humidity spikes reset the mosquito clock after every system.

   • Mosquitoes
   • Cockroaches
   • Scorpions
   • Wasps
   • Wildlife (heat-driven)

   What to do now

   1. Re-check standing water after every storm: the season resets with each one.
   2. Keep vegetation cut back from the foundation and roofline.
   3. In commercial buildings, watch the dock and refuse areas daily.
   4. Have the attic checked if anything is heard overhead.
8. 08 August

   Late-summer nests and school-year moves

   In August, avoid disturbing active wasp nests. When moving, inspect luggage and used furnishings for bed bug signs; do not assume a particular month or shared-wall address establishes infestation risk. Have ant activity identified before choosing treatment.

   • Wasps (large nests)
   • Bed bugs (move-in risk)
   • Mosquitoes
   • Fire ants

   What to do now

   1. Treat wasp nests near doorways and play areas before they grow further.
   2. Inspect second-hand furniture before it comes inside, and check the new place before the boxes land.
   3. Encase mattresses in any unit with prior activity.
   4. Keep lawn edges and brush lines trimmed for tick control.
9. 09 September

   Everything moves indoors

   September is the turn. Brown recluse sightings climb toward their autumn peak, rodents start their move-in, and fall invaders appear at sun-warmed walls. This is the month prevention is cheapest to act on, and the month most households first notice a problem that has been building all year.

   • Brown recluse (rising)
   • Rodents beginning
   • Fall invaders
   • Scorpions

   What to do now

   1. Schedule the autumn spider service: the hiding-place work lands right as they move in.
   2. Start the exclusion pass before rodents settle.
   3. Pull stored items away from walls in the garage and attic.
   4. Seal thresholds, garage corners and utility penetrations.
10. 10 October

    Spider peak and rodent move-in

    October is brown recluse season in this city, the autumn indoor peak, and rodents are actively seeking shelter as nights cool. Wildlife follows the same instinct into attics and porch voids. The treatments that land this month carry the winter.

    • Brown recluse (peak)
    • Rodents
    • Wildlife
    • Fall invaders

    What to do now

    1. Handle stored items with gloves and shake out anything from the garage.
    2. Seal the roofline and gable ends before squirrels settle in.
    3. Set rodent monitoring in the runs you would rather not share.
    4. Keep firewood and debris off the soil line and away from the house.
11. 11 November

    Wildlife at the walls, quiet elsewhere

    November is wildlife month: squirrels, raccoons and skunks pressing at every opening, while the insect population finally drops. It is the right month for exclusion work: the animals are motivated, the weather is workable, and roofing and sealing crews have capacity.

    • Wildlife
    • Rodents
    • Brown recluse (indoors)

    What to do now

    1. Complete exclusion before the first hard freeze locks the population in with you.
    2. Check vents, caps and soffit transitions with hardware cloth, not just sealant.
    3. Inspect the attic for the nesting that starts this month.
    4. Book the winter termite inspection while schedules are open.
12. 12 December

    Winter work and next year’s plan

    December is quiet outside and busy inside: rodents established, brown recluse in the warm zones of the house, and termites feeding below the frost line regardless. It is the cheapest month to schedule inspections and to fix the drainage and exclusion items that cause next year’s pest problems.

    • Rodents
    • Brown recluse (indoors)
    • Overwintering insects

    What to do now

    1. Use the off-peak season for the termite inspection and any treatment pricing.
    2. Fix the moisture items: irrigation drainage, leaking traps, crawlspace vapor.
    3. Review the year’s service records and set next season’s schedule.
    4. Check holiday storage for the spiders and rodents that moved in with it.