Does Rain Bring Bugs Into The House

When heavy rains fall in South Florida due to summer storms or tropical systems, water can flood the habitats of some bugs that make their homes in underground burrows or other underground habitats unlivable. During these periods of heavy rainfall, these bugs seek higher ground and your home makes an ideal shelter from the storm. Bugs access your South Florida home through small cracks and holes in your foundation and around other entryways, such as doorways and windows, in addition to garage doors that don’t close securely. Some of the bugs that come into your house as a result of rain include: 

• Ants – Building their nests in the ground outside your home, ants live in shallow burrows with extensive tunnel systems. While waiting for the ground to dry out, ants will forage for food in your kitchen. If they like what’s available, ants will probably try to continue to frequent your kitchen for food.
• Roaches – While roaches can survive underwater for about 40 minutes, they cannot live underwater. When the sewers and drains roaches call home flood, fast and resilient roaches head for the shelter of your home to survive the flooding. Once in your home, some roaches rapidly reproduce and soon you’ll have an out-of-control infestation and will require professional pest control methods and treatments to eliminate it. Roaches also transport food-borne pathogens and parasitic worms and can trigger severe asthma attacks in children.
• Termites – Subterranean termites need a lot of moisture to survive, but when rain floods the wood they’re feeding on and the tunnels they use to transport food to their immense colonies flood, subterranean termites won’t make a move for higher ground. Instead, termites go into an immobile state to conserve oxygen and can survive 19 to 30 hours in this state. Subterranean termites that are in trees during rain showers often do survive the rain, though.
• Yellow Jackets – Some wasps, such as yellow jackets, tend to build nests below the ground, in containers, or under sidewalks. When their underground hives flood, these wasps seek higher ground and can enter garages and homes in the process. Since people and pets do not mix well with aggressive yellow jackets, this can present a dangerous situation in and around your home.

Because rain can send pests running for safety in your home, it’s smart to check the perimeter of your home for cracks or small holes through which pests can enter at least once per season. If you still find yourself dealing with a pest infestation in your South Florida home, look no further than the expert team of Petri Pest Control Services. Call us today!