Preventing Autumn Invaders

摘要

One of the many ways that insects survive cold weather is to hibernate in void spaces of structures. They migrate towards buildings in search of an ideal warm resting spot to spend the cold winter. Changes in daylight hours and cooler temperatures cantrigger the insect's indoor movements. Normally there is a single life stage, the adult stage, when the insects move indoors and they do not breed, feed or develop during the winter. They slow down their metabolism and wait for the arrival of spring. Examples of the most common insects employing this survival tactic include: multi-colored Asian lady beetles, cluster flies, boxelder bugs, brown marmorated stink bugs and the Western conifer seed bugs. These insects, by virtue of their numbers alone, canelevate beyond nuisance status, especially in sensitive environments like food-production plants, pharmaceutical plants and health-care facilities where insect contamination is a concern. Some can stain surfaces and create offensive odors in addition tobeing a nuisance and contamination threat.