El Niño Packs a Wallop
Bring On The Bugs!

I read an interesting article in Pest Control Technology magazine titled "El Niño Packs a Wallop" and wanted to pass some of it on to everybody.

"The 2015-16 El Niño has been every bit as powerful as its record-setting 1997-98 predecessor, which brought storms, floods, landslides and unprecedented warmth to many areas of the country. What else did it bring? A glut of pests.

It’s hard to say how many pests, but during the last significant El Niño (1997-1998) pest management companies were “enjoying a booming business — reporting as much as a 20-percent jump,” thanks to the earlier, wetter spring brought about by El Niño, a 1998 CNNMoney article reported."

How can we predict its effect on bugs? We can’t.

But, many entomologists agree that the industry has not seen a comparable bug season in decades. 2016 could turn out to be just like 1998!

In my experience this past winter has been one of the best for rodents:

• Mice had free range with the little snow,
• We encountered more mice than usual all winter long
• With the short cold stretches which warmed up frequently, mice were constantly active

I am going to go out on a limb and say that we are likely to see a whole lot of pest activity this spring and summer. A slow warmup and a lot of precipitation this spring will result in very healthy bugs and a very busy season!

Think preventative maintenance now!

• Start looking around your home and business for early for pest activity.
• Ants and termites will thrive and "move in" in warm humid weather.
• And when it gets hot and dry, pests will search farther for water.

It is going to be a great summer for pests, make it a great summer for yourself as well!

Mike Conkright

Tags:Pest Control