DALLAS — Love is in the air.
“We had a little park picnic date,” said Jon Jaramillo.
He was on a date with Laura Koch who was visiting from Austria. They both spent Monday at Lake Cliff Park in Oak Cliff.
WFAA asked the couple if it surprised them to have this kind of weather in February.
“Yes. Yes, it does, but it’s a good surprise,” said Koch.
They were not the only ones attracted outdoors for the summer-like day. They also shared the attraction with those nesting below ground.
“I don’t mind bugs. I like bugs as long as they don’t bite me,” said Koch.
Bryant McDowell, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Program Specialist said the warm weather has been making insects more active, especially crane flies.
“The first thing that you're going to see flying around, as those temperatures increase,” said McDowell. “All the adults that are emerging out there, their whole purpose is to find a mate and reproduce and die.”
While crane flies are the first, they are not the only bugs.
“Indoors, cockroaches, things like that could potentially be a little more active in those hotter days,” said McDowell.
He said Insects such as fire ants and mosquitoes may be noticeable, but not much of a bugger since we haven’t had much rain.
“As, yes, temperature or more rain is going to occur, those populations have the potential to grow,” said McDowell. "Eggs are overwintering as adults. Mosquitoes vary on the species, but you can always expect to see, you know, these increased rates of mosquitoes as we get more rainfall."
Similar to mosquitoes, fire ants tend to emerge when soil becomes wet.
"They're down in the soil year-round. Now, as the temperatures are going to increase, especially as we get into those, like, warmer afternoons and we start getting some rains, when we get those rains, they're going to push those colonies out of the soil," said McDowell.
That works to Koch and Jaramillo’s benefit.
“So far, no bugs. Usually something crawls on her,” said Jaramillo.
“Today is a lucky day. I didn’t feel anything,” said Koch.
If you do find yourself dealing with more insects than usual, especially around your home, McDowell said it is always good to contact pest control.
