Category Archives: Seasonal Pest Control

Cincinnati Pest Control, Cincinnati Spiders, Cincinnati Spiders, Pest Control, Prevention tips, Seasonal Pest Control

Spring Pest Prevention Tips for Cincinnati Homes with Sure Thing Pest Control

Spring in Cincinnati, Ohio, is a time of growth, warmer weather, and — unfortunately — increased pest activity. As temperatures rise, ants, spiders, mosquitoes, and other pests start seeking food, water, and shelter, making spring the perfect time to take preventive action. With help from Sure Thing Pest Control, homeowners can protect their property and keep pests at bay all season long.

1. Inspect and Seal Entry Points

Pests often enter homes through small cracks, gaps, and openings around doors, windows, and foundations. Spring is a great time to:

  • Seal gaps around doors and windows
  • Repair damaged screens on windows and vents
  • Inspect your foundation and exterior walls for cracks

These preventive steps can stop ants, spiders, rodents, and other seasonal pests from invading your home. Sure Thing Pest Control can perform a professional inspection to identify less obvious entry points and provide targeted solutions.

2. Keep Yards and Landscaping Maintained

Spring cleaning isn’t just for your home’s interior — it’s crucial for your yard too. Piles of debris, tall grass, and dense vegetation provide perfect hiding spots for pests. To reduce infestations:

  • Remove leaves, branches, and clutter from your yard
  • Trim bushes and trees away from the house
  • Keep mulch and soil beds away from direct contact with your home’s foundation

Proper yard maintenance not only improves curb appeal but also helps prevent ants, spiders, and other pests from moving indoors.

3. Protect Food and Water Sources

Pests are drawn to accessible food and water. In the spring, sugary ant baits, bird feeders, pet food, and open trash cans can attract unwanted guests. Simple preventive steps include:

  • Store food in sealed containers
  • Keep trash bins tightly closed
  • Clean up standing water to reduce mosquito breeding

Sure Thing Pest Control also provides barrier treatments that minimize pest access to these attractants around your home.

4. Use Professional Spring Pest Control Services

While DIY measures help, professional pest control is the most effective way to prevent infestations. Sure Thing Pest Control offers:

  • Exterior barrier treatments for ants, spiders, and other seasonal pests
  • Inspections to identify early signs of infestations
  • Customized prevention plans for Cincinnati homes and businesses

5. Monitor and Maintain

Even after initial treatments, ongoing vigilance is key. Schedule regular inspections, monitor potential problem areas, and address minor issues before they become major infestations.

Conclusion

Spring is a beautiful season in Cincinnati, but it’s also prime time for pests. Taking preventive measures now can save you headaches, damage, and unnecessary costs later. Partnering with Sure Thing Pest Control ensures your home is protected with professional inspections, barrier treatments, and ongoing monitoring for a pest-free spring.

Cincinnati Pest Control, Flying Insects, Pest Control, Prevention tips, Recurring Service(s), Seasonal Pest Control

The Early Invasion of Stink Bugs in Cincinnati

Over the weekend while I was out doing some work around the house, I noticed what looked to be a couple of stink bugs trying to make their way in. It seems they have already started the search for a location to overwinter. If you’ve had issues with stink bugs in the past, now is the time to start preparing and pest-proofing your home before they make their way in.

As you’ve probably noticed the days have been getting shorter and shorter which is the trigger for many insects including stink bugs, ladybugs, and boxelder bugs to begin searching for areas to overwinter in Great Cincinnati. Like your home or business! While treatment will help to greatly reduce the number of these over winter pests that make it into your home the best way to deal with them is prevention: pest-proofing your home to keep them from making their way in.

In the Cincinnati area, we have a great number of insects that try to make your home their overwintering hotel including the brown marmorated stink bug, Asian lady beetle, boxelder bug, and cluster flies just to name a few. Brown marmorated stink bugs are usually the first to start searching followed by the Asian lady beetle a few weeks later. If your home has had issues in the past than you should expect the same problem again this year.

 

You may ask, what measures should I take to prevent these overwinter pests?

Pest control treatment is a great start. At Sure Thing, we can perform a fall application to your home to prevent a large majority of the stink bugs, boxelder bugs, and other pests from making their way in. While this is a great method for greatly reducing the chances of these pests from entering your home or business some exclusions measures should also be taken to have the best results.

Another great method for stopping them before they make it into your home is to properly pest-proof your home. Here are some tips that you can do at home to reduce problems with fall insect invasions:

  1. Seal cracks around doors, windows, and dry vents with caulk. Cracks as small as 1/8” will allow some insects to fit through.
  2. Replace torn or damaged window screens.
  3. Seal openings around pipes and wires in the foundation and siding with caulk. For larger openings use expandable foam or other suitable materials.
  4. Check the seal/ weather stripping under the doors. While lying on the floor, look to see if you can see light coming from under or around the door.
  5. Adding a chimney cap to exclude Stink bugs and also other wildlife. Make sure to leave your damper closed when not in use.
  6. *Cover attic and roof vents with hardware cloth. The cloth should be 1/6 inch or smaller to exclude stink bugs*
  7. Remove window AC units if possible.
  8. Apply a residual insecticide to the exterior of the home. Treating underneath and around doors, windows, utility openings, and where there is a change of material.

What To Do Once They’re Inside

Once overwinter pests have made it inside your Cincinnati home or business, you’ll generally them in various places. They are commonly seen around chimneys, closets, window air condition units, attics, on shelves, and around windows and doors.

Once Stink bugs have already made it into your home a chemical treatment is not recommended as they are going to be in wall voids and other areas that can’t be accessed so you may still continue to find insects. Besides prevention, the best way to remove overwintering pests is simply to suck them up with a vacuum. Another great control measure in dark areas such as attics and basements is to use some variation of a light-baited/ funnel trap and soapy water traps.

 

Got Questions? Need help? Don’t want the Stink Bugs to invade your home? Feel free to reach out! We’re here to help!

Cincinnati Pest Control, Flying Insects, Pest Control, Seasonal Pest Control

Sweat Bees in Cincinnati

If you spent any extended amount of time outdoors this weekend you may have been seeing a lot of sweat bees … Well, they may not actually be sweat bees… They may actually be hover flies which are very beneficial insects! Hover Fly on Hand

What’s the difference between a Sweat Bees and hover flies?

Well, the easiest way to tell if is a bee or a hover fly is that hover flies only 1 set of wings where bees have 2 sets on each side. Hover flies don’t sting or bite, but rather lick you for your sweat which may cause some slight irritation for a second. These tiny creatures start as larvae before growing into flies that are often confused with sweat bees. Unlike sweat bees, hover flies have the ability to hover in one spot, giving the appearance as if they’re suspended in mid-air.

How are hover flies similar Sweat Bees?

Just like bees theses flies are pollinators too so you may see them around your flowers and in your garden. In addition to being pollinators, they are a predator of aphids. Hover flies will crawl all over the foliage of infested plants grabbing and consuming these aphids. A hover fly can consume as many as 20-30 aphids per day or over 200 during its lifetime.

Hover Fly on Flower

Why am I seeing more now than ever before?

We don’t have a defiant answer to why we are seeing them more now than before but it’s believed to be weather-related. It’s believed that the influx maybe dur to the more humid months we have here in the greater Cincinnati area.

As we start to enter the time between summer and fall you’ll start to see less and less of them. So enjoy them for just a couple of more months.
Cincinnati Pest Control, Flying Insects, Mosquito, Seasonal Pest Control

When Does Mosquito Season Start?

When Does Mosquito Season Begin in the Midwest?

If you’re like most people, you probably don’t start thinking about mosquitoes until your outside and you get a red itchy welt on your skin letting you know the mosquitoes are out. While mosquito season is usually associated with hot summer months, that’s typically the peak of the season. Mosquito season actually begins much earlier than the hot summer months and goes through fall.

 

So When does Mosquito Season Start?

There are a couple of different factors that go into mosquitoes emerging such as the species and temperature. MosquitoSome mosquito species will hibernate during the winter months and re-emerge when the warmer weather begins, while other species will hatch in spring from eggs previously laid in the fall. Generally, mosquito activity will begin once we have a couple of days when the temperature reaches 50° F. As the temperatures continue to rise, the mosquito population will also increase. This is why in the peak of the hot summer months we see the most mosquito activity.

 

As you could expect the warmer the climate the earlier and longer the mosquito season.  Luckily for us in the Midwest, we have a pretty mild mosquito unlike some other regions like Florida, Texas, and parts of California. Our mosquito season generally starts mid to late April but this can vary year to year depending on the environmental conditions.

Got questions about mosquitoes or the mosquito season? Reach out to us at Help@surethingpc.com or give us a call at 513-247-0030.