Where Do Insects Go In The Winter?

We know how pesky garden insects can be during the warm spring and summer months (especially when you’re not using a garden safe insecticide!), but what happens to these havoc-wreaking invertebrates when the cold weather comes marching in?

Keep reading to find out what happens to insects in winter and what you need to know to stop them from causing any harm to your precious plants any time of year.

Where Do Insects Go in the Winter?

Although small and annoying, when it comes to helping their species survive the winter, insects can be quite crafty. To understand more deeply the life of insects in winter, let’s discuss the idea of overwintering, a natural survival skill for pests and plants alike.

What is Overwintering?

Just how some plants naturally protect themselves in the cold and harsh winter months (otherwise known as overwintering plants), overwintering is how an insect survives the winter season. Any insect that lives throughout the winter months is known as an overwintering insect or overwintering pest. Many insects in the adult, pupae, and egg stage overwinter, but where they overwinter can vary.

For instance, Monarch butterflies migrate from northernmost parts of the United States and Canada down to central Mexico to hibernate in what’s known as the Grand Monarch Migration.

Meanwhile, other adult insects like wasps, honey bees, beetles, leafhoppers, and some aphids take cover during the winter months in natural shelters like logs, tree holes, plant galls, and other supportive micro-habitats available to them. In fact, don’t be surprised to find wasps hiding out in eaves and attics of your home, garage, or barn!

Dragonfly, mayfly, and stonefly nymphs remain active during the winter, having their own little winter wonderland party amidst the water of ponds, streams, and even beneath the ice, feeding and growing all winter to emerge in the springtime as adults ready to feast on your garden.

As for eggs and pupae, their pesky parents lay eggs in the same places they hibernate, like plant branches, under logs, rocks, tree holes, under leaves, and other common natural sheltering spaces where they will be protected for the winter weather. Compared to adult insects, pupae and eggs are less likely to be found overwintering, though it does happen with prominent insects like moths and praying mantis.

How to Stop Overwintering Insects

While beneficial bugs may be your go-to pest management control solution during the growing season, overwintering insects can require a bit more management if you want to keep them from taking shelter on your garden plants, which is why you need a garden safe insecticide from Organic Labs!

From our ORGANOCIDE® BEE SAFE Insect Killer safe for bees and other beneficial bugs to the ORGANOCIDE® BEE SAFE 3-in-1 Organic Garden Spray designed to effectively kill overwintering insects at all life stages, protecting your plants before the first frost and long after it has melted away has never been easier, safer, or more effective.

Shop Organic Labs at your local home improvement store, and give your plants the 100% certified bee-safe protection they need from overwintering insects! Then, be sure to visit Organic Labs on Facebook and Instagram to see how other garden-goers like you are loving their bee-safe products!