The Plano Pest Calendar: Which Pests Show Up in Which Month

Why does the pest season in Plano change from year to year?

Pests in Plano respond to moisture and temperature, not to dates. A warm rain in March can bring out termites and fire ants early, a dry July pushes ants and roaches indoors for water, and a mild winter lets rodents stay active longer. Use the months below as a guide to what to watch for.

North Texas has a humid subtropical climate, with hot, humid summers and mild winters. Annual rainfall is roughly 35 to 38 inches depending on the source, and it does not fall evenly. A few heavy storms in spring can matter more to pests than a gentle, steady rain spread over weeks.

Most of Plano also sits in the Blackland Prairie belt, where the clay soil swells when wet and shrinks when dry. That cycle, covered in our guide to Blackland clay, slab cracks and termites, is one reason pest pressure can change sharply between a wet spring and a dry August.

Everything on this page is a general pattern for North Texas, not a count of what has been found in your street. If something is already moving in your house, the month on the calendar matters less than getting it looked at.

What pests show up in Plano month by month?

In general, January and February bring rodents into garages and attics, March and April bring the first termite swarms and fire ant mounds, May and June bring peak swarms and wasps, July and August bring heat-driven ants and spiders, and fall brings a second mosquito wave and rodents moving in again.

The table is a summary of tendencies in the Plano and Collin County area. Weather can move any row by several weeks in either direction, and the indoor pests in the last row are active in every month.

What happens in late winter and spring, from January to April?

Late winter is mostly a rodent season: mice and roof rats look for warmth in garages and attics. By March and April, warm rain tends to trigger the first termite swarms and bring fire ant mounds back to lawns, while storm damage to roofs can open new gaps for pests.

January and February are when attached garages earn their reputation. A gap under a garage door or around a pipe, invisible in summer, can become the route a house mouse uses on the first cold snap. Scratching in walls or the attic at night is the usual first sign, and our guide to roof rats in Plano attics explains how that differs from a mouse problem.

Termite swarmers, the winged reproductive termites, tend to appear on warm days after rain from late winter into spring. Native eastern subterranean termites are the everyday termite in North Texas, and they can swarm indoors when a colony is established near or inside a structure. Finding wings on a windowsill is a good reason to call, because swarmers are a sign that a colony is mature enough to reproduce, not a sign of how big the damage is. The termite inspection page explains what a technician checks.

Red imported fire ants rebuild their mounds quickly after rain, especially in irrigated St. Augustine turf and HOA common areas. A mound that appears in March can be treated before it turns into several by May. See fire ant control for how yard treatments are normally approached.

Spring is also the active storm season in Collin County. Golf-ball hail has been reported at Park Boulevard and Preston Road in Plano and off Legacy Drive in Frisco, and March storms have caused damage along Dallas Parkway. Broken soffits, cracked fascia and loose roof flashing can give wasps and rodents a way in, so a look after a hail event is a sensible habit.

• Check windowsills and door tracks for small discarded wings after a warm rain.
• Walk the lawn after rain and look for new fire ant mounds before they multiply.
• After a hail storm, look for gaps in soffits, vents and roofline trim.
• Schedule a termite inspection before the swarm season rather than after the first sighting.

What happens in late spring and summer, from May to August?

May and June bring peak termite swarming, growing mosquito numbers after rain, new wasp nests under eaves and odorous house ants in kitchens. July and August bring heat and, often, drought, which pushes ants and roaches toward moisture and cracks the clay soil around slabs.

By May, wasps are starting nests under eaves, in soffits and in the corners of two-storey roofs. A small starter nest is much easier to deal with than a large one in September, and most nests are up high where a ladder is a poor idea. Our wasp and hornet nest removal page covers why a technician is usually better placed to do it.

Mosquito numbers build as rain fills birdbaths, clogged gutters, plant saucers and the low spots of HOA ponds and creek-side greenbelts. The mosquito season guide for Collin County goes into the breeding sites in detail. The mechanism is simple: standing water for about a week is enough for a new generation, so what you tip out on Saturday matters by the next weekend.

Odorous house ants and rover ants often show up in kitchens after heavy rain or at the start of a hot spell, when outdoor trails dry out and colonies follow moisture indoors. This is common in tight-lot subdivisions where mulch beds sit against the foundation. See ant control for what usually helps.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area averages 17 days a year at or above 100 degrees F on records back to 1899. The average first 100-degree day is July 1 and the average last is August 27, though the count has ranged from none in some years to 71 in 2011. Those are DFW Airport figures rather than Plano readings, but they describe the regional pattern: a hot, dry stretch in which clay shrinks and pulls away from foundations. Spiders and scorpions can occasionally turn up in garages and sheds during the same period, and irrigated lawns continue to hold fire ants and mosquitoes.

What happens in fall and early winter, from September to December?

September and October usually bring a second mosquito wave after fall rain, wasps near their peak and the first rodents moving toward attics. From November into December, mice and roof rats are the main concern, along with overwintering spiders and roaches, and it is a practical time for a termite inspection.

Fall rain can reset the mosquito cycle after a dry August, and wasp colonies are at their largest in early fall, which is when people most often get stung while raking or trimming. Check eaves, porch ceilings and the outside of attic vents before doing yard work.

Rodents start to look for winter shelter as nights cool. Roof rats are climbers, and mature trees whose limbs touch a roofline are a ready-made bridge to the attic. Trimming limbs back from the roof and sealing entry points in October is far easier than dealing with a noisy attic in January.

Late fall and winter are also a good time to ask about a termite inspection. Termites are active underground year round in mild weather, and an inspection before spring swarm season lets any finding be handled on your schedule instead of in a rush. If you are planning to sell, our WDI report guide for selling a Plano home explains how that report fits into the sale.

Holiday guests and travel also matter. Bed bugs travel in luggage and on clothing, and they are a year-round concern in apartments, hotels and relocation housing rather than a seasonal one. Inspect luggage after a trip and keep it off the bed.

How do irrigation, hail and drought change the calendar?

Irrigation keeps pests active when the weather would otherwise slow them: sprinkler-fed turf and beds hold fire ants and mosquitoes through dry spells, hail can open roof gaps in spring, and drought cracks clay soil around slabs. A pest season in Plano is partly a product of how a property is watered and built.

A yard on a daily sprinkler schedule holds moisture even in August, so ants, mosquitoes and fire ants have a refuge that a dry, unwatered lot does not. A leaking sprinkler head near the slab is also a moisture source right where termites and ants prefer it. Our guide to HOA rules, sprinklers and pests goes into this in more depth.

Drought works differently. Blackland Prairie clay shrinks as it dries, and cracks can open at the slab edge or around plumbing penetrations. Cracks and gaps may give termites and ants easier access, which is why a late-summer look at the foundation is useful. How far the soil moves varies from lot to lot, so a technician checking in person is worth more than a rule of thumb.

Winter Storm Uri in February 2021 is a reminder that the region can turn sharply cold. DFW recorded a low of -2 F with 139 consecutive hours at or below freezing, the second-coldest temperature in DFW records. Whether hard freezes will recur is not something anyone can predict, and a cold winter should not be assumed to reduce next year's pests.

What should a Plano homeowner do each season?

A practical pattern is to inspect for termites in winter, check for fire ants and swarmers in spring, clear standing water and wasp starters in summer, and seal entry points before fall. Each step is small, and each targets the pests that tend to be most active just after it.

The list below pairs each season with one or two jobs a homeowner can do without a technician. None of it replaces a professional treatment when a pest is already established, but it reduces the number of easy openings.

If you are unsure which category a problem falls into, call (855) 974-4733. Phones are answered 24/7, and a local technician can be scheduled the same day when one is free. The price is explained and approved before any treatment begins.

• Winter: look for droppings, hear for noises, seal garage and attic gaps, and ask about a termite inspection.
• Spring: check for swarmer wings, treat new fire ant mounds, and repair storm damage to soffits and vents.
• Summer: empty standing water weekly, watch for new wasp nests, repair sprinkler leaks and check garages and sheds.
• Fall: trim limbs away from the roof, clean gutters, install door sweeps and inspect eaves before yard work.