Finding a roach in a clean house does not mean you did anything wrong. In Alabama, a lot of the roaches people see indoors are large outdoor species that wander in from the yard, mulch, and sewers looking for moisture. A spotless kitchen does not keep those out on its own.

In Alabama, only two spiders are worth real caution: the black widow and the brown recluse. Almost every other spider you run into is harmless, and most of them are quietly doing you a favor by eating other bugs.

Yes, brown recluse spiders live in Alabama, and they are one of the few spiders here worth being careful about. The good news is that the great majority of spiders you find around the house are harmless, and recluses prefer to stay hidden and out of the way.

No, fire ants do not go away in an Alabama winter. They move deeper into the ground and go quiet during cold spells, but the colony and the queen survive. As soon as we get a warm stretch, they are back at the surface.

A fire ant mound keeps coming back because the queen is still alive. The mound you see is just the surface. If a treatment kills the workers but never reaches the queen deep underground, the colony rebuilds within days.

Mosquitoes are drawn to standing water to breed and to cool, shady, humid spots to rest. If your yard has both, you become the neighborhood hangout. Cut the water and trim the shade and you cut the population.

In Alabama, mosquitoes usually show up in February, as soon as daytime temperatures hold above 50 degrees. The season builds through spring, peaks in the hot, humid summer months, and does not really wind down until October.