Insect experts said there will be more bugs in Gainesville during the next few months due to an unusually warm winter.
The insect survivors of the not-so-cold winter can now feed and reproduce sooner and faster.
Insects regulate their body temperatures by moving around. During winter, it is normally too cold for them to move, so they die, said Phil Koehler, UF entomology professor.
More insects survived this winter because they could keep warm, he said.
Fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, chinch bugs and ants all easily survived the winter, Koehler said.
A warm winter brings in more revenue and boosts business earlier and longer, said Harold Raughley, owner of Anyone Can Do It Pest Control & Lawn Care.
“We are going to see bugs earlier than we normally do and later than we normally do because of higher populations,” he said.
Even though it isn’t an epidemic, he said, this will be a serious issue.
He said insects can ruin a home, lawn or business.
“People don’t like to be bothered, especially with blood-sucking insects,” Raughley said.
Contact Ben Brasch at bbrasch@alligator.org
