A perfect storm for pests

CINCINNATI - The unusually warm winter and the rain-soaked spring created the perfect storm for pests.
    
"We are seeing a high volume of flying and stinging insects and occasional invaders, things looking for moisture that's not outside that's trying to get inside your home," said pest control specialist Jason Brown from Sure Thing Pest Control.  

Bees, bees and more bees, all because of what Brown calls the "zero winter."

"No winter, not having any snow, we're just seeing a high volume right now, especially when someone cuts their grass is when they usually find them," Brown said.  

That's one of the reasons why Tara Koch of Sharonville went with her family to the Highfield Discovery Garden.

"I hate bugs," Koch said. "I feel like bugs are everywhere, so we choose to come here instead of even playing in our own backyard."

Glenwood Gardens' head naturalist Carol Mundy says there's a speed-up in what we would think of as a normal year.

"We're seeing that both in the plants," Mundy said, "seeing them bloom anywhere from five to 12 weeks in advance. And because there's been better food, that means there's better stuff for bugs to eat. So more generations and varieties of bugs have been able to survive because you've had plant material available earlier to them."

Mundy said as those plant eaters get well fed, then bugs who eat bugs are going to be well fed.

"There's just a whole lot of food around," Mundy said. "The volume of mosquitoes may actually be higher because there's fewer water pools available."

But Mundy said not to fear. She encouraged families to make themselves aware of the variety of bugs in the community and their benefit to the environment.