McLean, VA (written by Doyle Rice/USA Today) -- As if this
summer isn't bad enough already, the unusual warmth is turning
bugs extra frisky. "We're calling it a breeding bonanza," says
Missy Henriksen of the National Pest Control Association. Across
the country, as a result of record heat, pests from grasshoppers
to crickets and ants to bees are arriving earlier and in greater
numbers than usual, entomologists at HomeTeam Pest Defense say.
"We're seeing an increase in a lot of different pests right
now," company entomologist Russ Horton says. Pest controllers
are battling grasshoppers in Texas, ants in Florida, and
crickets and bees across the country, he says. "Insects develop
more rapidly with higher temperatures," says entomologist David
Denlinger of Ohio State University. He adds that insects did
well this past winter given the lack of intense cold. Through
June, the USA was sweating through its warmest year on record,
according to the National Climatic Data Center. Insects such as
grasshoppers and cricke