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Austin pest calendar

When bugs in Austin peak, month by month

Bugs in Austin do not take a month off, but they do keep a schedule. Swarmers and fire ant mounds come in spring, mosquitoes peak from May through November, scorpions and roaches head indoors in the summer heat, and field crickets pile up around homes in late summer and fall. This calendar shows the main windows, the weather behind them, and what to do before each one.

By the Bastion Pest Control team Licensed and insured in Texas Last updated

Cover for the Austin pest calendar: a live oak shaded Austin street beside a four season diagram of the pests around one house
NOAA Camp Mabry normals, 1991-2020
Sourced to Texas A&M AgriLife
Austin Public Health mosquito data
NWS Austin climate summary

The short answer

Mosquito peak
May through November
Swarmers and fire ant mounds
Spring, after rain
Scorpions and roaches indoors
The summer heat
Field cricket peak
August and September

Bugs in Austin never fully shut off, and Camp Mabry, Austin's official climate site, sees only about 12 freezing days a year. What changes is who shows up, so the best time for pest control is the few weeks before each window.

Prefer to listen? 55 seconds.

The short version, read aloud. Read by a synthetic voice, not one of our technicians.

Is there ever an off month for bugs in Austin?

No, bugs in Austin have no true off month, because the winter is too short and too mild to stop them. NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals put January, the coolest month at Camp Mabry, at an average high of 62.5 F and a daily mean of 52.2 F.

So pest season in Texas does not reset with one freeze, at least not in Austin. KUT reported that the heavy 2026 mosquito season here followed a warm winter with fewer hard freezes, which let more mosquitoes and their eggs survive.

Austin's year in heat and rain

Average daily high and low, and average rainfall, by month. Camp Mabry, 1991 to 2020 normals.

Austin climate normals by month, Camp Mabry, 1991 to 2020 Average daily high and low temperature lines over monthly rainfall bars. Highs in degrees Fahrenheit: Jan 62.5, Feb 66.5, Mar 73.3, Apr 80.3, May 86.9, Jun 93.2, Jul 96.6, Aug 97.8, Sep 91.4, Oct 82.5, Nov 71.5, Dec 63.9. Lows: Jan 41.8, Feb 45.8, Mar 52.2, Apr 58.9, May 66.8, Jun 72.9, Jul 75, Aug 75.1, Sep 70.1, Oct 60.8, Nov 50.5, Dec 43.4. Rainfall in inches: Jan 2.64, Feb 1.89, Mar 2.88, Apr 2.42, May 5.04, Jun 3.68, Jul 1.96, Aug 2.74, Sep 3.45, Oct 3.91, Nov 2.92, Dec 2.72. Annual rainfall 36.25 inches, with peaks in May and October. 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° 100° 0 in 2 in 4 in 6 in January: 2.64 inches of rain 2.64 Jan February: 1.89 inches of rain 1.89 Feb March: 2.88 inches of rain 2.88 Mar April: 2.42 inches of rain 2.42 Apr May: 5.04 inches of rain 5.04 May June: 3.68 inches of rain 3.68 Jun July: 1.96 inches of rain 1.96 Jul August: 2.74 inches of rain 2.74 Aug September: 3.45 inches of rain 3.45 Sep October: 3.91 inches of rain 3.91 Oct November: 2.92 inches of rain 2.92 Nov December: 2.72 inches of rain 2.72 Dec January: average high 62.5 F February: average high 66.5 F March: average high 73.3 F April: average high 80.3 F May: average high 86.9 F June: average high 93.2 F July: average high 96.6 F August: average high 97.8 F September: average high 91.4 F October: average high 82.5 F November: average high 71.5 F December: average high 63.9 F January: average low 41.8 F February: average low 45.8 F March: average low 52.2 F April: average low 58.9 F May: average low 66.8 F June: average low 72.9 F July: average low 75 F August: average low 75.1 F September: average low 70.1 F October: average low 60.8 F November: average low 50.5 F December: average low 43.4 F 97.8° high 41.8° low
  • Average high, F
  • Average low, F
  • Rainfall, inches
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, Austin Camp Mabry (USW00013958), read on 2026-09-27. Annual normal rainfall is 36.25 inches.

Winter moves the action indoors. Roof rats breed all year and usually live in attics (our roof rat guide goes deeper), and German cockroaches spend their lives indoors.

The same Austin house in spring, summer, fall and winter, with the pests each season brings Four panels of the same small Central Texas house with a limestone wall and a green roof. Spring, on a green sky: an open paper wasp comb under the eave with two wasps, a cluster of winged swarmers by the window, and a fire ant mound on the lawn. Summer, on a pale blue sky: mosquitoes over potted plants and a saucer, and a scorpion by the step. Fall, on a pale orange sky: a cricket by the porch light and more on the ground, fallen leaves, and a roof rat climbing a bare tree onto the roof. Winter, on a gray blue sky: a bare tree, a roof rat in the attic cutaway, and cockroaches in the kitchen. ONE HOUSE, FOUR SEASONS Austin never really shuts off. The season only changes who shows up. SPRING Swarmers, new wasp nests, fire ant mounds SUMMER Mosquitoes, and scorpions moving in from the heat FALL Crickets at the lights, rodents looking for a way in WINTER Roof rats in the attic, roaches in the kitchen bastion PEST CONTROL
Each panel follows the timing in the calendar below: fire ant flights and termite swarmers in spring (Texas A&M), mosquitoes most active May to November (Austin Public Health), crickets peaking in August and September (Texas A&M), and roof rats in attics all year (Mammals of Texas). Illustration: Bastion Pest Control.

The Austin pest calendar: common bugs by month

Most Texas pest calendar pages in search are written for Tyler, Dallas or Fort Worth. This grid covers nine of the common bugs in Austin, Texas.

The Austin pest calendar

What each source says about each month. Darker means the source names a peak.

Austin pest activity by month, with the source for each row
PestJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSource
Biting and stinging
Mosquitoespresent all year, most active May to NovemberJanuary: Active, month named by the sourceFebruary: Active, month named by the sourceMarch: Active, month named by the sourceApril: Active, month named by the sourceMay: Peak named by the sourceJune: Peak named by the sourceJuly: Peak named by the sourceAugust: Peak named by the sourceSeptember: Peak named by the sourceOctober: Peak named by the sourceNovember: Peak named by the sourceDecember: Active, month named by the sourceAustin Public Health
Fire ant mating flightsspring and fall, afternoons after rainJanuary: Not named by the sourceFebruary: Not named by the sourceMarch: Active, season named by the sourceApril: Active, season named by the sourceMay: Active, season named by the sourceJune: Not named by the sourceJuly: Not named by the sourceAugust: Not named by the sourceSeptember: Active, season named by the sourceOctober: Active, season named by the sourceNovember: Active, season named by the sourceDecember: Not named by the sourceTexas A&M
Paper waspsnests founded in spring, new queens late summer and fallJanuary: Not named by the sourceFebruary: Not named by the sourceMarch: Active, season named by the sourceApril: Active, season named by the sourceMay: Active, season named by the sourceJune: Active, season named by the sourceJuly: Active, season named by the sourceAugust: Active, season named by the sourceSeptember: Active, season named by the sourceOctober: Active, season named by the sourceNovember: Active, season named by the sourceDecember: Not named by the sourceTexas A&M
Scorpions indoorssummer heat pushes them down from atticsJanuary: Not named by the sourceFebruary: Not named by the sourceMarch: Not named by the sourceApril: Not named by the sourceMay: Not named by the sourceJune: Active, season named by the sourceJuly: Active, season named by the sourceAugust: Active, season named by the sourceSeptember: Not named by the sourceOctober: Not named by the sourceNovember: Not named by the sourceDecember: Not named by the sourceTexas A&M
Swarmers, and who to call
Native termite swarmersusually March and April, by day. Call a termite specialistJanuary: Not named by the sourceFebruary: Active, month named by the sourceMarch: Peak named by the sourceApril: Peak named by the sourceMay: Active, month named by the sourceJune: Not named by the sourceJuly: Not named by the sourceAugust: Not named by the sourceSeptember: Not named by the sourceOctober: Not named by the sourceNovember: Not named by the sourceDecember: Not named by the sourceTexas A&M
Honey bee swarmsspring. Call a beekeeperJanuary: Not named by the sourceFebruary: Not named by the sourceMarch: Active, season named by the sourceApril: Active, season named by the sourceMay: Active, season named by the sourceJune: Not named by the sourceJuly: Not named by the sourceAugust: Not named by the sourceSeptember: Not named by the sourceOctober: Not named by the sourceNovember: Not named by the sourceDecember: Not named by the sourceTexas A&M
Invaders and nuisance bugs
Field cricketspeak in August and SeptemberJanuary: Not named by the sourceFebruary: Not named by the sourceMarch: Not named by the sourceApril: Not named by the sourceMay: Not named by the sourceJune: Not named by the sourceJuly: Not named by the sourceAugust: Peak named by the sourceSeptember: Peak named by the sourceOctober: Active, season named by the sourceNovember: Active, season named by the sourceDecember: Not named by the sourceTexas A&M
German cockroachesindoors all year, a generation about every 100 daysIndoors all year, no seasonTexas A&M
Rodents
Roof ratsbreed all year, peaks February to March and May to JuneJanuary: Active, month named by the sourceFebruary: Peak named by the sourceMarch: Peak named by the sourceApril: Active, month named by the sourceMay: Peak named by the sourceJune: Peak named by the sourceJuly: Active, lowest productionAugust: Active, lowest productionSeptember: Active, month named by the sourceOctober: Active, month named by the sourceNovember: Active, month named by the sourceDecember: Active, month named by the sourceTexas Tech
  • Peak named by the source
  • Month named by the source
  • Season named by the source, mapped to months
  • Lowest production
Every row links its source, all Texas A&M AgriLife, Texas Tech or Austin Public Health, read on 2026-09-27. Where a source names only a season, we drew it over that season's three months. A blank cell means the source does not name that month, not that the pest is absent. Termites and honey bees are shown so you can identify them; Bastion Pest Control refers both out.
Wizzie Brown of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension in Travis County on the different bugs Austin sees, in a segment from CW Austin Morning. Source: "KXAN Q&A: Bugs in Austin" KXAN on YouTube, published 2025.

March to May brings swarmers, fire ant mounds and new wasp nests

Spring is swarm season. Native subterranean termite swarmers are usually seen in Texas in March and April, and ants often swarm at the same time of year as termites, which is why it pays to tell termite swarmers from ant swarmers. We do not do termite work; termite jobs go to a company licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture in the termite category.

Fire ant mounds reappear quickly after rain, and the spring bait treatment runs on soil temperature rather than a date. Our ant control page covers fire ants.

Paper wasp colonies are founded in spring by queens that spent the winter in sheltered hiding places.

Do not spray a honey bee swarm

General information, not medical advice. If a sting reaction worries you, call your doctor.

May starts the mosquito peak, which Austin Public Health puts from May through November. Our mosquito control page covers the treatment.

June to August pushes scorpions and roaches toward the house

Summer is when Austin bugs come looking for water and cooler air. In the late-summer 2023 heat and drought, scorpions were on the move, looking for water and cooler temperatures, and cockroaches came inside for the same reasons.

The striped bark scorpion is the most common species in Central Texas. It is often found in attics and, in hot weather, may move into living areas to escape the attic heat. Our Austin scorpion guide has more.

The American cockroach is generally an outdoor species, but it heads indoors during and shortly after rain.

September to November brings crickets, a second fire ant window and lingering mosquitoes

Fall belongs to the field cricket. Adult crickets are most abundant around homes in late summer and fall, with numbers highest in August and September when rain and cooler weather break a summer drought. The second fire ant bait window is in the table below.

Fall rain and cooler weather also drive spiders, scorpions and millipedes indoors. Mosquitoes hang on through November.

So when is the best time of year for pest control in Austin?

The best time of year for pest control in Austin is just before each pest's window. National pages tend to answer spring or winter, on the logic that pests hibernate through a cold season Austin does not really have.

JobWindowWhy thenSource
Fire ant bait, springSoil 1 inch down reaches about 70 FWorkers forage then; results take 2 to 4 weeksTexas A&M, 2018
Fire ant bait, fallLate August to mid-OctoberAnts still foraging, weather easier to predictTexas A&M, Two-Step
Cut outdoor lightsBefore the August and September cricket peakLighting is the biggest cause of severe cricket invasionsAgriLife
Seal rodent gapsAny time; for mice, especially as fall coolsMice fit through 1/4-inch gaps, rats through 1/2-inchTexas A&M School IPM
Empty standing waterAll year, peak May through NovemberContainer mosquitoes go from egg to biter in daysAustin Public Health; AgriLife Today

Almost every job in the table happens before the problem is visible.

Can you handle this yourself?

Most of this is homeowner work. If cutting the lights, emptying the saucers, sealing the obvious gaps and baiting twice a year keeps your house quiet, you do not need us.

The job outgrows a weekend when the windows stack up. In late summer, the fall bait window, the cricket peak and the mosquito peak all overlap. Waiting has a price, too: German cockroaches can produce a generation in about 100 days, and a roof rat litter averages almost seven young.

What we add is reach and timing. A technician checks weep holes, eaves and the attic, and a recurring plan from our services page puts the visits on the calendar ahead of time. General Pest + Rodent starts from $66 a month and General Pest + Rodent + Mosquito from $166 a month; our pricing page lists every rate. On any recurring plan, re-treatments between scheduled visits are free.

Worth a call

Most bugs that turn up outdoors in their own season are normal. The ones worth a call live indoors, breed all year or keep coming back.

  • Scorpions indoors every week. That points to a way in that sealing has not closed yet.
  • Droppings in the attic. Roof rats breed all year, so this rodent control job does not wait for a season.
  • German cockroaches out by day. They live entirely indoors, so this is a job in any month.

Common questions

What month are bugs the worst in Austin?

There is no single worst month. The busiest stretch runs from May, when Austin Public Health's mosquito peak starts, through the hottest weather of the year and into AgriLife's August and September field cricket peak.

When is Austin's first freeze?

For 1991 to 2020, the National Weather Service puts Austin's average first freeze on December 1 and its average last freeze on February 15, measured at Camp Mabry. Austin-Bergstrom freezes far more often, about 33 days a year against about 12 at Camp Mabry.

How long does cricket season last in Austin?

Field crickets peak around homes in August and September. Two AgriLife sources disagree on the swarm itself: a fact sheet says the heaviest mating flights last only 1 to 2 weeks, while a 2024 AgriLife Today article says mass gatherings typically last four to six weeks.

How many West Nile cases does Austin get?

In 2025, 41 mosquito pools in Travis County tested positive for West Nile virus and five Austin-Travis County residents had reported cases, according to Austin Public Health. In 2026, the county's first human case was announced on August 20, when ten pools had tested positive.

Not sure if it is the season or a problem?

Call or text a photo of what you are seeing, and tell us what month it is. We will tell you whether it is a normal Austin bug that needs nothing, a one-time job, or a gap worth closing before the next window.

Call 843-480-8699 Phone answered 24/7. Same-day service most days.

About this page

Written and reviewed by the Bastion Pest Control team in Austin, Texas. Every weather, pest and health figure on this page comes from NOAA, the National Weather Service, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Austin Public Health or KUT, and all of it was retrieved on 2026-09-27. The plan prices are our own published rates. Mapping season-only sources onto months was our call, and the calendar labels it. If something here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will fix it.

Sources

Answered 24 hours · Austin, TX

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