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Global Warming and the Effect on Insects

Global warming is a term most all of us have heard. Any time there is a warm day, it’s blamed on global warming. Unusual weather? Must be global warming. Flooding? Definitely caused by those melting ice caps that are increasing the sea levels. Yes, there are many things that have and will be altered by global warming. One thing you might not have thought about is the effect global warming will have on pest control.

Think about all you know about global warming. Temperatures will rise and so will the sea level, causing more ground to be flooded. Warmth and moisture; a recipe for insects. Insects love the combination of warm temperatures and moisture. Just ask anyone in Florida and they can attest that they are ripe with insects. Florida is a perfect example of a climate that insects love. Isn’t Florida the mosquito capital of the world? Just imagine more insects than we have now. Insects die off in cold weather, which is why the northern states aren’t as inundated with them. As winters warm, the cold weather die off will not occur, allowing those states to experience what Florida has.

We have also heard that there may be some species that won’t be able to handle the temperature change and will die off. This will mean that some pests may lose their natural predators. Perhaps some bird species will die off, allowing for rodents to increase in population. Rats were the cause of the spread of bubonic plague. With more rats, more disease would spread. Imagine the predators of snakes being eliminated; a nightmare for many of us. As snakes increase, they would kill off other animals. Some of the animals eaten by the increased snake population may be the natural predator of another animal that will now be able to increase its population. You can see where this is going.

Right now, we are feeling some effects of global warming. Temperatures will keep rising. Those ice caps will continue to melt. We have seen an increase in severe weather. Maybe we haven’t noticed a change in the populations of insects and animals, but they will be coming. The changes will be increasing and the most severe changes in our planet may not be seen for 100 years. When it comes to the increased pest population, we can only hope the pest control specialists have kept up.