San Diego

Seeing More Bugs? The Hot Weather Might be to Blame

NBC 7 and Telemundo 20 looked at how you can protect your home from bugs during the heatwave.

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If you've noticed more bugs around your home, you're not alone. Hotter temperatures mean pests get more active.

"The biggest thing is warm nights," said Efrain Velasco, the Technical Director at Lloyd Pest Control. "We've gotten hundreds of phone calls for spiders, hundreds of phone calls for ants."

The reason you might have seen more spiders around your home is because there are a lot more bugs for them to eat.

How can you fight back? First, cut back on how much water you use in your yard.

"Overwatering is huge," said Velasco. "Insects, especially the ones we call pests, need a ton of moisture for the most part."

Velasco says most bugs love humidity, so overwatering can create a small bubble perfect for pests. Also, tidy up your landscaping by removing or cleaning up dying bushes and areas that can collect standing water.

Second, check openings in your home.

"They don't need much space to get in through a screen, or a gap, or a hole," said Velasco.

So double-check windows and doors, even vents and air conditioning.

"If you're sealing up holes or gaps for air conditioning purposes, that works for bugs too," said Velasco.

If some of these recommendations sound familiar, it's because they help solve multiple problems.

"If you think of it from a perspective of energy conservation, the same type of stuff works for bugs too," said Velasco.

While those are some ways to keep bugs outside of your home, what about protecting your home itself? Velasco says it's the time of year when king and queen termites start flying around to find a place to start a colony.

"Basic maintenance can help," said Velasco. "Keep things painted, keep things sealed off properly.

While sealing up your home might cost some money, Velasco says it can actually pay off in the long run because it will help you save on air conditioning costs.

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