The warm weather, the outside barbecues, and an entire army of unwanted guests that are to be found with it, is what summer in Elmhurst brings. Well, our sprawling DuPage County community is home to many annoyed homeowners when you think you can settle in for the evening, ants parade across your kitchen counter, or you find out that a wasp nest is being crafted near your porch. The fact is that these pest invasions are not only annoying, but they can endanger the health of your family and damage your property to a great extent.

Be it mosquitoes in your backyard paradise or carpenter ants in your home-associated lumber, the truth is that many DIY options are not sufficient for the long haul.

You can do everything possible to avoid having pest issues, but calling an Elmhurst pest control company to help safeguard your home and family during the hard-to-defeat summer months is always recommended.

What Leads to Pest Problems In Elmhurst, Illinois?

Climate and Weather Patterns

The summer weather in Elmhurst sets the stage for many pests to breed. According to local weather records, we typically face summer temperatures in the range of 70-85°F and humidity levels frequently above 70%. In this humid climate, pests reproduce faster, so populations can explode in a short time. With so much humidity in the air, mosquitoes flourish, and the warm weather is a perfect temperature for ants and cockroaches to start their colonies in and around your house.

Summer thunderstorms are also a somewhat regular occurrence for our region, and they significantly affect pest behavior with their movements as well. When heavy rains occur, insects and other rodents become prevalent and look for dry places to shelter, which in turn leads them into Elmhurst homes and businesses.

Urban Environment and Green Spaces

The combination of suburban living and open green space allows for excellent pest habitats all over Elmhurst. Our urban canopy offers terrific places to nest for lots of insects and rodents, with more than 900 trees maintained by the city’s forestry department. Places like Spring Road and Grand Avenue , with their great, mature oak and maple trees, present a very conducive atmosphere for carpenter ants and other wood-boring insects.

Our many parks, such as the much-used Wilder Park and East End Park, though lovely for residents, are breeding sites for mosquitoes, ticks, and outdoor pests! Since these green places are near residential areas, the pests do not have to travel many miles to seek the food sources in your home.

What Can You Do To Protect Yourself From Pests?

Home Maintenance and Prevention

Above all, homeowners in Elmhurst can take any number of proactive measures to limit their home’s attractiveness to pests. Examine the outside of your home, looking closely at the foundation and places where utilities come into the house. Older homes, such as those in the historic districts of Elmhurst, built in the early 1900s, often have tiny gaps or fissures where ants, spiders, and other small pests can enter.

Focus On Landscape Management

Yard maintenance is key to pest prevention. Trim tree branches and shrubs away from the exterior of your home to form a buffer zone to eliminate pests’ use of vegetation as highways to your home. 

Maintain your lawn and empty standing water from pots, bird baths, and other containers. The Coalition for a Sustainable Maritime Coast will have tips on how to reduce the water footprint of your garden, but as a starting point, you might want to consider landscaping your garden with native plants since they generally require less water and will attract fewer pest problems.

Professional Pest Management

The solution to summer pest problems in Elmhurst is a combination of your prevention and professional pest control assistance. Though we can do our part as homeowners to prevent infestations, eliminating them thoroughly can pose more difficulties in a climate with plenty of outdoor activity, green spaces, and other unique attributes of urban life.

For thousands of homes throughout Elmhurst and the greater DuPage County area, Pointe Pest Control has been providing specialized pest control services. They are proven experts when it comes to protecting your home from summer pests, thanks to their local know-how and reliable history.