What are insects like in mississippi and... (Jackson, Iuka: homes, campground)

[KingsX]

A friend of mine said that insects are super bad in the Mississippi, Alabama, Florida etc area because it is essentially bordering the tropics. But he's never beent there, so what would he know.

In a previous post I was looking at miss for a winter home, and I was wondering what the general area (meaning say a two state radius) is like for bugs? How are mosquitoes? What about flies, wasps, hornets, bees etc? Do you have screens on your windows?

What is the bug situation like in the seasons? I imagine there are less or none in winter? Where I come from there are not a one, zero bugs in winter. But the summer brings mosquitoes which are the only real problem. We do have flies and wasps etc, but they aren't that bad at all.

[Tama]

You will be much more aware of the buggy world here. I can only speak of south of the Jackson, MS area though. When I first came and lived in a rural area, I was amazed by the shapes, sizes, and colors of bugs! In winter it is much more limited. There are large roaches and mosquitoes can be a problem anytime the weather warms a bit. Your dog needs heartworm protection year round. Screens are essential. Most people have pest control protocol in place and it becomes a nonissue. Next week, for example, I will have to have Orkin come to spray my yard because everytime my dog goes out, he comes in with fleas. I haven't done this for years, but, apparently, it is time again. Repellent on your person is necessary because of West Nile in the summer.

[tennreb]

Bugs are bad in Mississippi, but they don't really interfere with your life that much. Mosquitos are pretty bad, but they are much worse in Minnesota. I'm not sure why.

[KingsX]

Mosquitoes worse in Minnesota? I can maybe see that. Mosquitoes are bad where I'm from, and I'm only about a 4 hour drive from Minnesota. I think it has to do with standing water. Manitoba (where I'm from), like Minnesota have a lot of lakes and ponds and standing water etc. Especially after winter when snow melts etc. But I can see the south being pretty bad too. Actually, we have mosquito control where I'm from so its tollerable.

But we don't have cockroaches. Or Africanized bees. Our winter takes care of them quick fast. But we do have to have screens too. In our rural parts, bug spray with deet is a must. Just for mosquitoes mostly.

So really it doesn't sound too bad in winter. If its AS bad as here, I can handle that no problem. But I imagine in winter there, it's better than summer here, so it'd be no problem.

[tennreb]

There are virtually no bugs in winter, but you need bug spray if going outdoors during the summer. I just got back from a weekend of riding horses in the woods of South Mississippi just off the river, with tons of swampy, standing water all around. I got bit maybe five times. Not bad considering the conditions. There were tiger spiders everywhere, though. They don't bite (I think) and are not poisonous, but they look very terrifying.

[aiangel_writer]

In the Northern part of the state we have misquitoes (acutally they have not been bad up until now, we finally got some rain) and flies and wasps and hornets and ants. But, nothing that just overwhelms you. I have a pest control guy who comes every quarter to spray inside my home and around the outside as well. No problem.

Now, we do not have the large roaches like the Southern part of the state has. Most of our roaches come from bringing in paper bags and/or boxes from the grocer or other places. I have zero roaches and have lived in my home for 25 years. Might have seen two to three in this time frame. We have spiders, brown recluses and black widows, mainly outside. I have found some in my flower beds from time to time.

We also have snakes. Cotton mouth, water moccasions (sp), and some rattlers. They do not pose any problem in my yard though, as it is cleared out. But step into the wooded areas behind my home and you can run into many of them.

I also have deer. My youngest sets up deer feed on a feeder at the edge of our yard and I have the most lovely view from my office. Last year, I saw a doe with two babies all summer long. Even got to see the babies nursing! Quite a sight. THe squirrels love to come and horn in eating the corn and the deer do not seem to mind.

I have bird feeders in my front yard, hanging from a tree. Have pairs of doves, blue jays, many pair of red birds and others. The squirrels also come and get into these, have seen as many as 7 squirrels in the tree and have to scold them, they have their own food at the base of the tree.

It stays so hot and dry around here during the summer, I have water for the animals as well.

During the winter months, lately we have not even had a ground freeze, cant' remember the last time our ground froze. That means the insects will be worse in the Spring and summer. It is quite common to see bees flying around in the late winter if we have two to three days of really warm weather.

What kills me though is the Springtime. We will warm up in February and all the trees and flowers will start to try to bloom and WHAM--here comes a cold snap bringing with it just enough frost to kill or harm the blooms--makes for a bad time for the foliage.

[KingsX]

That's great info aiangel. I think mosquitoes exist pretty much everywhere on the planet. They are apparently horrible in the far north arctic for some reason. Someone told me its because when in the summer the snow melts, and leaves little pools of water everywhere. And since the ground never thaws, they just sit there and fester and make a wonderful breeding ground for the little guys. Thankfully barely anyone lives there.

Its interesting to hear what you have for insects and snakes and whatnot. I think there have been some sightings of rattlesnakes in my province but that could be myth. Stuff like black widows don't survive our winters so we don't have to worry about them either. And only European bees are hearty enough to stand the winter, so thats good.

I find it interesting that you have to have a pest controller come and spray every now and then around your property. Up here, we never have to. Unless there is a circumstance that warrants it. But that is rare indeed.

How do cockroaches get into grocers bags? Coming from where there aren't really any roaches around, that would probably freak me out if it happened to me!

I guess the main point is the only insect that really bothers us is mosquitoes, and the rest generally keep to themselves. We can have ant problems here, but that's also fairly rare.

Its 32 degrees here (90-ish). Nice day to sit on the deck and enjoy the weather!

[aiangel_writer]

LOL, we are having a bit of a cool wave as a cool front moved in a couple days ago, it is a nice 86 degrees with a heat index of 90. Nice and the humidity is only 55% so far.

I have the pest control to keep ants away from the windows and coming in, as well as to help with spiders. During the really dry months, insects go in search of water and that usually brings them into homes. Like I said, I have not seen a roach in many years but that is how I did see them years before. We do have what we call dirt-dobbers they look like wasps but do not bite, and build long nests made from mud in carports, or even in things left outside like motorcycle helmuts, coolers if left open, under outdoor furniture and inside the eves. Lately we have also had what my husband calls wood boring bumble bees, and that is a major reason we have pest control, they love to bore into our home to make nests. We have a western cedar and stone home, and these critters are always buzzing around trying to bore into the cedar. sigh. their liittle holes are a perfect circle, amazing to see.

Last summer we had a problem with armadillos, but not this year. We have racoons that try to get into our garbage containers and we have seen a red fox a time or two. Lizards abound around here as well, but keep to themselves. Opossums are other culpits to my trash, and we try to ensure tight fitting lids but sometimes they still manage to make a mess. sigh.

[KingsX]

90 with the humidity at only 55, that is what we have been for a few days now about, and although some of us call that nice, many call it hot. I generally prefer the 22-28 (72-82) degree stuff with no more than 60 humidity. When it gets into the 30's its getting hot. And humid.

I can see insects being a problem if they are looking for water. Nasty little things. We have up here what are called fish flies, or mayflies. You might have them too. They only live for about 3 days. But they are many, and when they die, they smell like fish, or a swamp or something nasty like that. We have wood ticks in the spring from april until about july-ish. I hate wood ticks. I own about 17 acres of forested oaks, and they are plentiful. Also in may we have a canker worm thing. They go in phases though, and this year is the worst and they are supposed to drop off for the next 7 years. So that's good. My wife mentioned that those bees are also called carpenter bees. I looked them up in wikipedia. I don't think we have them here. At least I have never seen one.

We don't have opossums or armidillo's. But we do have raccoons. They aren't really a problem though. Very few of them really. There is a chance, though extremely rare to see mountain lions and bobcats. And possibly black bears too. But I have never seen them around here, only if you drive about 2 hours into the wilderness. We do have the odd coyote and wolf too if you go into the woods. But again, I have never seen one around where I am. So generally there's not too much.

[aiangel_writer]

The mayflies are along the Tennessee River in Iuka. There is a campground called PicWic and they have mayflies there a lot, and the fish just love 'em. Don't think we have any bears around here, foxes yes and someone said wolves but I have never seen one. There were some black cats like the big things over on the land where Toyota is putting in, so I dont' know where they went to. Other than that, yes we have tics and they are a problem this year for sure. I have to check my dh every night as he works outside all day long.

We do have a wasp we call yellow jacket and they nest in the ground, hurt like crazy when they sting you but it has been many years since I was stung by one.