Summer’s high temperatures bringing in unwanted pests

NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KTRE) - The bugs are back and you might have encountered a lot more of them this summer. One East Texas pest control company said it’s all due to the high temperatures.

“You’d be surprised, you may never open a window in your home, but that bug can get in,” said Carra Liles, owner of Carra’s Pest and Termite in Nacogdoches. For the last 16 years, her company has been battling all types of pests. She said this summer has been their highest peak as pests are more prevalent in sandy soils and are seeking for water. Most calls consist of having to deal with bees and ants.

“They’re looking for harborage area. They’re like you and I. They want to be somewhere cool and comfortable or, you know, private so they’re creeping in and crawling into the cracks and crevices of their home,” Liles said.

For anyone looking to control the pests themselves and want to remain within their budget, Liles recommends they buy over-the-counter products but still take precaution and read the labels. She said that “the public needs to be extremely careful with anything that is toxic. Anything that contains insecticide, anything that contains gasoline products, or anything like that, because some of these old wives tales aren’t held to be true. They’re dangerous.”

For people who are traveling for a long period of times this summer, an outside perimeter treatment done by professionals will be the best choice according to Liles, and basic sanitation practices will help avoid the tiny visitors from coming into a home.

Client Melissa Rusk said she would frequently see bugs come into her kitchen searching for water and food.

“Essentially we live out in the country, and so anything that is flying is going to make its way to our house, especially with doors being open and kids running in and out. We do have ants that sometimes make their way into the house,” she said.

Rusk follows up with a quarterly treatment plan through Liles’s business to keep eliminating the unwanted guests from her home.

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