Have you ever heard something like this?  “With all this (insert some severe weather element) bugs are going to be a huge problem this year.”  Well, they’re not too far off, depending on what they’re talking about of course.  We have learned that all drastic weather change leads to more suitable conditions for one insect species or another, depending on the conditions.  That means there will always be some sort of insect scourge, no matter the weather.

Last February, we took an “educated guess” at what pests would be the scourges of 2012.  Read here 6 Pest Predictions for 2012.  Guess what…we nailed a few of them!  Here’s a recap:1. “There might be a large increase in West Nile Virus over last year.”Ding ding ding!  This was spot on.  There were only 27 human cases in 2011, but there were a staggering 1,739 cases in 2012.  If you lived around Dallas last summer, you felt the sting…pun intended.2.“The lack of predators like ants and wasps in non-irrigated areas will allow crickets to explode late in the summer.”We all remember the cricketastrophe of 2012, especially around Bryan/College Station.  We are still finding dead crickets behind furniture and appliances in some of our accounts.3. “We had big (scorpion) numbers last year and no harsh winter temperatures or predators to kill off overwintering adults.”This was definitely true, even more so the further south you go.  Scorpions tend to be problems only in certain areas.  Some neighborhoods, especially in older areas of Bryan, never see them.  However, in 2012 we had scorpion calls from nearly every neighborhood in Bryan and College Station, and many from McKinney, Denton, and other suburbs around North Dallas.  Scorpions were listed as the target in nearly *half of our services last year.  (* Bryan/College Station Branch)As with any educated guess, sometimes you get them wrong.  Also, sometimes other things happen that you didn’t see coming.

1.  We really expected a huge number of spiders in 2012, but they seemed to be fairly average.  We have seen years where it seemed like spiders were the dominant life form in Texas, but 2012 was not the year…lucky for you!

2. We have never really noticed big spikes in German cockroaches over the years.  They are associated with people and aren’t much affected by outside environmental conditions, right?  Well something sure set them off in 2012.  We did nearly 200 pest control services in Bryan and College Station targeting German cockroaches last year, where we normally do 50 or fewer.  In DFW we performed nearly 10 times more services to eliminate German cockroaches.

What’s in store for us in 2013?  You’ll have to wait for our next post!  We will outline what we think will be the next pestocalypse in Texas.  Stay up to date with Venus Pest Company so you can be prepared for the upcoming onslaught!