Pests do not show up at random. Around the Highland Lakes and the wider Hill Country, each season brings its own lineup, and once you know the rhythm you can get ahead of problems instead of scrambling after them. Our mild winters and long, hot summers mean something is almost always active, but the cast of characters keeps changing. Here is what to expect quarter by quarter, and what to do about it before it becomes a kitchen or bathroom problem.
Quick answer
Pest pressure in the Hill Country shifts with the seasons: spring brings termite swarms, ants, and waking scorpions; summer peaks for mosquitoes, fire ants, and scorpions; fall pushes rodents and spiders toward the warmth of your home; and winter is the time for exclusion and planning ahead. Staying on a year-round program keeps you ahead of each wave instead of reacting after it hits.
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Spring: Everything Wakes Up
Spring is the busiest changeover of the year. As things warm up and the rains come, insects that rode out the winter become active all at once. This is prime termite swarm season, when mature colonies send out winged reproductives, usually on a warm day after rain, so it is the time to watch for swarmers and discarded wings near windows.
Ants get going in spring too, foraging into kitchens and forming new colonies, and fire ant mounds start popping up in lawns. Scorpions stir back to life as temperatures climb. Spring is the smartest time to set your defenses, because knocking populations down now keeps them from exploding through summer.
- Watch for termite swarms and shed wings, especially after spring rains.
- Expect ants foraging indoors and the first fire ant mounds.
- Scorpions become active again as nights warm.
- Seal entry points and start or resume a regular program before populations peak.
Summer: Peak Pressure
Summer is when pest activity hits its high point here, and the heat drives a lot of it indoors. Mosquitoes peak through the warm, humid months, breeding in any standing water and making lakeside evenings miserable if you let them. Fire ants are at full strength, and their mounds multiply across yards.
Scorpions are most active now, and during stretches of extreme heat or drought they come inside hunting moisture and the insects you would rather not have either. Roaches, flies, and wasps all ramp up as well. This is the season the bi-monthly approach really earns its keep, because the pressure is constant and a single treatment fades before the next generation arrives.
- Mosquitoes peak; dump standing water weekly and keep up a barrier treatment.
- Fire ants and scorpions are at their most active.
- Watch for wasp and hornet nests under eaves and on play structures.
- Extreme heat pushes scorpions and other pests indoors toward moisture.
Fall: The Move Indoors
As nights cool, the story shifts from outdoor swarms to indoor invaders. Rodents are the headline. Rats and mice start looking for a warm place to spend the winter, and your home, garage, and attic look perfect. A mouse can slip through a gap the width of a pencil, so fall is the time to seal up and watch for droppings, gnaw marks, and night-time scratching.
Spiders become more noticeable in fall as they mature and move around, and the insects they hunt drift toward the warmth of your house, bringing the spiders with them. Crickets and the occasional scorpion follow that same indoor migration. Fall is your last good window to button up the house before the cold makes uninvited guests want to stay.
- Rodents seek warmth indoors; seal gaps and check the attic and garage.
- Spiders get more visible as they mature and follow prey inside.
- Crickets and lingering scorpions move toward the warmth of the house.
- Inspect and reinforce weather stripping, door sweeps, and foundation cracks.
Winter: Quiet but Not Off
Our Hill Country winters are mild, so pests do not disappear the way they do up north. Instead, many of them simply move in and stay quiet. Rodents that got inside during fall keep nesting and breeding in the walls and attic where it is warm. Roaches survive happily in heated kitchens and bathrooms. Some insects overwinter in protected spots, waiting for spring.
Because outdoor activity drops, winter is the best time for the unglamorous but high-value work: exclusion. Sealing entry points, addressing moisture, and clearing harborage now means fewer pests are positioned to explode when spring arrives. It is also when a good program keeps protecting the interior, where the action has moved.
- Rodents and roaches stay active indoors through the mild winter.
- Focus on exclusion: seal gaps, fix moisture, remove clutter and harborage.
- Keep interior protection going even though outdoor activity is low.
- Plan ahead so spring does not catch you flat-footed.
Why Year-Round Beats Reacting
The thread running through all four seasons is that pest pressure never fully stops here, it just changes shape. If you only call when you see a problem, you are always a step behind, treating an infestation that has already established itself. Getting ahead of each season is far easier and cheaper than cleaning up after it.
That is the logic behind a regular program. ACI Pest & Lawn's bi-monthly service keeps a barrier in place and adjusts to whatever the season is throwing at your property, from spring ants and summer scorpions to fall rodents and winter exclusion. Around the Highland Lakes, staying on schedule through the year is what keeps the surprises out of your kitchen, your bathroom, and your attic.