Will The UK Get More Pests Due To Climate Change?

Climate change is rapidly altering our world. This is happening no matter where you live. But here’s the real question. How will climate change affect insects? Basically, will we get more pests due to climate change, or will something entirely different happen? The truth is that it’s hard to say exactly what will happen. That being said, here’s what might happen.

What will happen to pests due to climate change?

What you first have to understand is that insects are highly sensitive to the climate. Even the slightest change will affect them. If it cools, pests are affected. If it warms, pests are also affected.

A good example of this is the fact that warmer weather helps insects breed in greater numbers and at a greater speed. This is why you see less autumn pests and winter pests too. Also, something else that may happen due to climate change is that insects will have lengthened breeding seasons. What this ultimately means is that yes, we will probably get more pests due to climate change. Just note that it’s hard to predict if this will actually happen.

Something else which could happen to pests due to climate change, is that we will get pests from abroad. This may happen because the climate is changing in other countries as well and it encourages seasonal pests. This may lead to some insects migrating in order to find a more hospitable environment. This could become a major issue, because it means that local pest populations may become destabilised. In fact, like any alien invader, these new pests may end up replacing or driving out the local pests. This is actually a serious problem because many insects perform valuable ecological functions.

Will indoor pests be affected by the climate?

What you also need to realise about pests due to climate change, is that outdoor pests are most affected. That being said, it’s possible that indoors pests, such as bed bugs, will also be affected. According to scientists, what could happen is that these pests experience increased life cycles. They could actually experience one to five additional life cycles each year.

If this happens, it will seriously affect humans and make our issues with pests even worse. A good example of this is mosquitoes. With warmer summers and milder winters, the mosquito population could explode exponentially. This could make our summers extremely unpleasant. What’s more, these warmer temperatures will also affect flies and cockroaches. The population sizes of these insects could also increase dramatically.

The bottom line is that yes, climate change will affect insects. It’s possible that warmer weather will allows insects to breed at a faster rate, therefore increasing their numbers. In addition to this, we may also have to deal with new insects from overseas.