Vail said fleas haven't been much of a problem in the last few years. We don't know if the weather is affecting fleas or if enough pet owners are using spot-on insecticides to reduce flea numbers. The number of fleas may have declined, but ticks are thriving. Vail has had reports of homeowners reporting hundreds to thousands of newly hatched ticks crawling up outside walls in search of a meal. Spring is also the time for swarms of termites and carpenter ants.
Carpenter ants are large ants that remove dead wood to build nests.
Termites eat the cellulose in dead wood, including timbers and rafters in houses. Vail suggests keeping bark mulch in flower beds at least 18 inches from the house. Leaving this gap between the mulch and the house makes it more difficult for the termites to make it to the wall undetected, she said. Being a farmer is stressful. According to one study, farming and ranching are among the 10 most stressful occupations, said Jim Neel, beef specialist with the Agricultural Extension Service at The University of Tennessee.