Insect Invasion Won’t Stop at Summer’s End

Summer may be nearing its official end, but for those bees, fleas, spiders, ants and mosquitoes that have swarmed, hopped and crawled into the yards and houses of San Fernando Valley residents, the season has just begun.

“Insects are doing really well,” said Matt Torricelli, assistant branch manager for Western Exterminator Co. in Van Nuys. “They seem to get a few more points in the ballgame every year.”

While several Valley exterminators said complaints about pests, especially fleas, ants and spiders, have been more numerous so far this summer than last, experts say the bug population is always difficult to quantify. This year, however, heavy February rains and the ensuing abundance of vegetation combined to create a bumper crop of critters.

Exterminator Britt Holden--whose family has run Holden Pest Control for 53 years--said that ants and fleas have caused the most problems this this summer. Ants enter houses in search of food and water, she said.

“Unfortunately, there’s not a way to keep them out.” she said. “You could caulk the heck out of your house and seal up every crack. But they can get in in so terribly many ways.”

Some insect populations--such as mosquitoes, bees and spiders, which are measured for public health and agricultural reasons--have been estimated to be somewhat higher this year than last.

Gail VanGordon, an entomologist who tracks spiders for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, said concerns about spiders are on the rise. VanGordon said there are two types of spiders: roaming spiders which wander for food and snare-builders, which build webs. The roamers, she said, are more likely to wander inside houses.