No Bugs or Snow bugs?

Most of us in Tennessee prefer warm weather to cold. When the temperature reaches below freezing we huddle inside for warmth. And if there’s snow in the forecast? We’re most likely rushing to the grocery store to stock up on food as though we’re preparing for hibernation. Winter months may seem to drag on, but there is one positive to cold weather: it gets rid of the bugs. Or does it?

Most bugs take the most obvious survival approach: avoid the cold. Insects like the Monarch butterfly may head down south to Mexico in the fall. However, not all bugs migrate, and most die when winter rolls around. Their eggs are left behind, and new bugs are born when spring arrives. However, if winters aren’t cold enough, some pest bugs may not be totally killed off. Warmer winters may mean more bugs, year-round. So, freezing weather may not be so bad, huh?

And then there are some bugs that, believe it or not, like the cold. They keep on their normal schedule throughout the dead of winter, and they don’t slow down for a little bit of frost. These insect have developed a sort of intenal anti-freeze that protects them from the cold,

A rare few bugs just let the cold completely take over. That’s right – they freeze. They go into a dormant state in which their bodies are semi-frozen. It’s similar to hibernation; they simply stay where they are, frozen, until they thaw off with warm weather. Once it warms back up, they continue about their business. Scientists still have a lot to learn about these bugs. There’s a lot that we don’t understand about how they are able to return back to life completely undamaged.

Of course we have those pesky insects that live well during the winter sharing our nice warm houses. These insects include cockroaches, ants, fleas, bed bugs, lady bugs and others that have learned to live with us to either over winter in our walls, feel on our food scraps, feed on our pets or even feed on us!

So, fellow Tennesseans, which would you rather: cold weather or pesky bugs? As for us: we’re hoping we get a bit of snow to take care of many of those creepy crawlies.