Ongoing Drought Could Be Bringing Pests Into Your Home

We are in a very dry stretch of summer. We haven't mowed in nearly three weeks, and we haven't needed to! We're supposed to be conserving water during this drought by changing our behavior with water usage. Avoid watering your lawn, only run full loads of laundry, and shut off the water while you brush your teeth. Just common sense stuff, right?

Minnesota DNR

One of the things we don't think about during a drought is kinda creepy. Pests are feeling the drought too, and there's a good chance they're trying to get into your house because of it.

When water is scarce, pests will enter homes trying to find a water source. A leaky pipe, moisture in sinks or drains, toilets, and other spots can bring in bugs and rodents. We noticed last week that we had a couple of ants on the counter. We wiped them off and cleaned up the counter, but the next day there were even more ants.

We bought Terro bait. It's a clear gel that the ants eat and then carry back to their colony. It poisons the colony and very quickly gets rid of an ant problem. At least that's the case in our experience. It only took us 2 days of leaving bait out before the ants disappeared.

Pests will look for water or food in kitchens, bathrooms, and basements. So when a drought occurs, it's time to set those mousetraps in your house and have bait stations ready to go to take care of those ants marching in by the thousands.