The good news is it's spring.
The new season means time for flowers to bloom, trees to bud, and fill our world with fragrance and color.
We all look forward to nature's re-awakening, and we welcome warm weather back into our lives after months of huddling and hibernation.
Very few of us anticipate the invasion of bugs though.
Unfortunately that's one negative aspect of this changing season.
I'm not talking about the helpful insects here.
If you're anything like me, you enjoy watching the bees as they buzz around picking up pollen from one bloom and dropping it off on another plant to stimulate reproduction, and carry nectar back to the hive for honey creation.
(Although they often become annoying later in the summer.
) Ladybugs are helpful too, as they eat aphids and other pests that harm plants.
They're a problem when their population explodes inside a building though.
Even spiders help us when they weave their webs and catch flies.
Those are the good guys, at least when their activities result in improvements to our lives.
We normally don't have problems with insects until later in the summer when their populations get so large they become a nuisance factor, and when they invade our home.
I'll focus on home invasion here because we've a little time before those populations grow to bothersome levels.
Your objective is keeping pests outside, and one effective method that accomplishes that is creating a barrier around your house.
Since a small crack looks to an insect as big as a door looks to us, you'll want that barrier to include every possible opening you're able to find in the building.
Start by applying insecticide sprays around every window and doorframe.
I usually do this on the outside of the house.
Inside is okay, but that technique does give the bugs opportunity to enter, and you have dead bodies to clean up.
Plus the fewer chemicals inside the more comfortable you'll probably feel.
Make sure you use a residual spray or the barrier won't last long enough to do you any good.
Next, make sure your barrier covers the foundation too.
Spraying works here, but in my experience a granular application works better as it lasts much longer.
Finally, search inside the home for any gaps, cracks, or holes of any kind in the junctions of the walls with ceilings and floors.
If those bugs hibernated in you basement or crawlspace over the winter that outside barrier won't bother them.
Putting up a lasting barrier should keep most of the crawling insects from entering your house from the outside, and keep you bug free this spring, but you'll still need to watch for those pests that slept inside all winter.
Good luck with your pest control efforts.