Ah, spring. Spring is the time of new beginnings, fresh starts… and mostly a lot of rain. Rainfall has a huge effect on everything in the environment–including your business. Rain makes flowers bloom, trees sprout, and grass spring back to life. It softens the ground and freshens the air. It even brings absent retail customers back for the season! Unfortunately, however, rain brings all kinds of things back for the season. Including pests.

Spring rains present an opportunity for all kinds of pests to wake from winter dormancy and re-hydrate. Often, they’ll wake from winter dormancy inside or around your business. Every time it rains this spring, you can expect to see all kinds of pests come out to soak it in. Here’s everything you should know about rainy day pests, and how to protect your business from them.
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What happens to pests when it rains?

The pests that like rain tend to use it as an opportunity to reproduce and spread. Mosquitoes, flies, and other insects all tend to appreciate humid, rainy weather. During particularly rainy periods of spring, these pests will reproduce more frequently and become more active. That means more insects and more prevalent insect swarms, especially around moisture.

The pests that don’t like rain, like rodents and spiders, have to seek shelter to stay out of the rain. Rainy periods can make rodents and other infesting pests more aggressive in their attempts to either your property. In other words, whether the pests like rain or not, they’re likely to make problems for you during rain.
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Which pests don’t like rain?

Heavy rains may flood insect and small mammal’s burrows and homes, forcing them to evacuate. After evacuating, these pests will have to seek out new shelters in a hurry if they want to survive. If your business happens to be nearby, it’ll be a tempting way to stay dry.  Ants are particularly sensitive to rain because rain can easily flood their underground burrows. If ants make their way into your property after rain, they’ll begin rebuilding the colony they lost right away. You’ll probably find ants foraging for food in food storage areas like cupboards, pantries, or kitchen sinks.

Rodents like mice and rats are also forced to seek out indoor shelter during heavy rains. Unfortunately, they’re also very good at avoiding rains by sneaking inside buildings. Remember: your building is at a much higher risk of rodent infestation than usual during a rainy spring. Patch up your perimeter and window and door frames to help keep them out. Look for any moisture leaks, especially around your basement or crawl spaces.
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Which pests like rain the most?

Some pests actually thrive or even depend on the rain. Mosquitoes are the prime, unfortunate example. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. When there’s a lot of rain… there’s a lot of standing water. All that standing water gives mosquitoes plenty of opportunities to mate, lay eggs, and rear their young. The more mating mosquitoes can accomplish in spring, the higher the mosquito population in summer. A rainy spring means a mosquito-heavy summer.

The best way to reduce the mosquito population around your property is cleaning up puddles wherever you find them. Look for standing water all over your business, outside and inside. Pay careful attention to any particularly humid areas where condensation and leakage may seep in and accumulate. If you have water features on your property, make sure the water stays moving. Mosquitoes can’t lay eggs in flowing water. Finally, make sure you diligently control your structure’s humidity. All kinds of pests tend to love humidity, not just mosquitoes, and rain will make it a bigger problem than usual.

No matter how heavy the rainfall may be this spring, Assured Environments can help you keep water-loving creatures away. Give us a call any time and we’ll make sure no pests are raining on your parade.