Podcast: Cold Weather, Hot Pest Activity

In this PCT Podcast, Sydney Crawley, principal vector scientist with Rentokil Terminix, shares how pest activity continues and, in some cases, increases during the winter months, challenging the common belief that pests slow down in cold weather.

Topics discussed include emerging winter pest trends involving bed bugs, cockroaches and rodents. Crawley explains why many pests do not go dormant in winter and how indoor environments allow them to remain active. She also describes how pests enter homes in unexpected ways, including through holiday decorations, luggage, storage containers and winter clothing.

Crawley also shares research insights from the company’s Dallas Innovation Center, where researchers use monitoring systems and experiments to track pest movement and behavior during colder months. Crawley highlights changes in how pests move and establish themselves indoors during winter and why these shifts matter.