You might feel relieved that summer—the peak season for buzzing, stinging, and flying pests—is over, but fall has its own creepy crawlies to watch out for. Not only are these insects gross (at least to most people!), but they can also be incredibly dangerous. The most worrying part is that many of them appear harmless. To learn how to protect yourself this fall, we spoke to pest experts and scientists about the season’s most active bugs. Read on to learn about the top five most dangerous bugs to avoid this fall — and how to protect yourself from them.
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1
Common Housefly
In early fall, cooler temperatures cause flies to seek warmth in our homes. Although they may not bite, they carry many diseases and bacteria that you may not have noticed.
“The list of diseases carried and spread by the common housefly includes many of mankind’s worst killers: typhoid, cholera, gangrene, tuberculosis, gonorrhea, bubonic plague, leprosy, diphtheria, scarlet fever, amoebic dysentery, polio, and many others. ” explained Sholom rose blossom, owner of Rosenbloom Pest Control. “Some flies prefer the eye and transmit the microbes of pink eye (conjunctivitis) and trachoma from diseased eyes to your healthy eyes. Others spread grazing, a skin disease, when they feed on your cuts and wounds.”
Each fly can carry up to six million bacteria on its feet. If it has recently walked around in feces, it can transmit pathogens that cause the aforementioned diseases (along with infectious hepatitis, as well as the eggs of parasitic worms) to people – mainly children.
To get rid of flies naturally, Rosenbloom suggests making a spray with ginger and basil. “There are also certain other home remedies that people have claimed have worked for them, including apple cider vinegar traps, eucalyptus oil spray, lavender oil spray, and hot pepper spray.”
2
wasps
Wasp stings can be dangerous and potentially fatal if people are allergic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an average of 62 people die each year from hornet, wasp, and bee stings. And fall is their active season.
The story goes on
“Unlike honey bees, which can overwinter an entire colony in their hives, only queen wasps survive each spring,” she explains Karl van Rees, PhD, Conservation Scientist and Naturalist. “It takes them all of spring and summer to raise a new brood of young, a couple at a time, in a busy new hive of wasps. In the fall, these colonies are at their peak, meaning more wasps are more active prey for more babies.”
Yellowjackets, a common species of wasp, are notorious for being active in the fall. Corresponding David Price, a certified entomologist at Mosquito Joe, this is because their food sources are drying up and they’re desperate for sugar in sodas and fermenting fruit. “While winter comes, the fittest survive; the workers will die off and the newly fertilized queens will seek shelter to overwinter and start a new colony in the spring. A single sting can be life-threatening to a person who is allergic.”
The best way to keep wasps away is to make sure you don’t leave any food sources (sweets, drinks, food) open for them to find. If you have a very large wasp population, a baited wasp trap is an option, as are single wasp sprays. To remove a nest near or in your home, it is best to consult a professional.
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3
ticks
One of North America’s most dangerous insects, the deer tick is most active in the fall. This tiny scourge gets busy when other tick species start to slow down for the winter. In the fall, deer ticks complete their life cycle by growing into their adult forms, finding mates, and producing eggs.
“Like other tick life stages that require growth and molting, this means they need to look for a blood meal,” says van Rees. “Because they are the largest – especially the females – and have to produce some energy-intensive eggs, it also means they need the largest blood meal of their lives. They are adapted to seek out larger hosts in the fall, which in the past has meant mostly deer. Since autumn is the mating season for deer, they are particularly active and mobile at this time.”
The younger life stages of deer ticks can transmit several dangerous diseases, most notably Lyme disease, through bacteria they can pick up from smaller hosts earlier in their lives. According to van Rees, around 500,000 people in the United States contract Lyme disease from deer ticks each year. Other tick-borne diseases include anaplasmosis (a bacterial infection), Rocky Mountain spotted fever and babesiosis (a red blood cell disease). Younger ticks are more active in the summer, but that’s no reason to be wary in the fall.
To protect against ticks, Price recommends using “Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, lemon eucalyptus oil, para-menthanediol, or 2-undecanone” in wooded or leafy areas. He also says to “treat clothing and equipment such as boots, pants, socks and tents with products containing 0.5% permethrin.” And of course, always check yourself and your pets when you come back indoors.
4
be crazy
As it turns out, fall is peak mating season for spiders. According to Price, black widow and yellow sac spiders deliver venom with their bite, which can be painful with fever, nausea, and sweating. Bites from brown recluse spiders are also very painful and can cause necrosis of subcutaneous tissue.
“As the days get cooler, the venomous spiders will come closer or invade our homes,” says Price. “Especially when the temperatures are changing and they’re getting ready for winter.” To guard against this intrusion, “make sure the screens are in good condition, the doors are sealed, and there are cracks and crevices around that.” house are sealed. Also be aware that a spider or other insects may be lurking in piles of wood.”
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5
bed bugs
Fall is peak season for bed bugs. “When families return home from summer trips and children are back at school, there are many opportunities for bed bugs to hitchhike in bags, backpacks, luggage and clothing,” according to M and M Pest Control.
These tiny, reddish-brown bugs hide deep in your mattress and feed on you while you sleep. And while bed bugs aren’t medically dangerous (bites just itch and don’t cause disease), they’re extremely difficult and costly to get rid of, making them very dangerous to your mental health, not to mention your social life.
Bed bugs live in mattress seams and creases, in crevices and crevices in headboards and bed frames, in corners and screw holes in dressers and nightstands, behind framed wall art, and in crevices along baseboards. The best ways to prevent bed bugs are by clearing up clutter, installing door sweepers to stop bed bugs from migrating from room to room, and checking bags in when you return home from a trip (or when kids are home from school). come home).
