As we reach for the sunblock and hats this summer, you may also be reaching for a fly swat.
Along with the hot weather comes an increase in creepy-crawlies. And bugs are active far earlier this summer.
If you want bugs, they're not hard to find.
"Centipedes, carpet beetles, spiders, just everything," said Christchurch resident Ashleigh Lilley.
Desperate to rid the house of constant creepy-crawlies, Lilley has harnessed her three-year-old's adventurous spirit.
"Just clips on the wee catcher and vacuums up the bugs and releases them outside," she said.
It's a daily chore. Because when it's warm outside the bugs will come inside.
"The bugs are responding to the environment. It's lovely and warm and moist at the moment. It's been very hot, they're cold-blooded, just responding to that and they start breeding and looking for food and are a lot more visible," said entomologist Paul Craddock.
Some regions are proving more popular than others with pests active earlier in the season.
"It's always the warmer regions in the north that get the bugs first, but also the South Island, Nelson they're having a big season," Craddock said.
Daniel Highman from Guaranteed Pest Control's services are in high demand.
"I think due to the mild winter we've had, that factors into the amount of insects that are getting around. Ants, wasps and whitetails - we've seen a lot of them as well," he said.
"It's very much a fly season right now so there are a lot of flies right now. People are seeing them in their houses, cockroaches as well."
And the hot weather that bugs love is far from over.
"I'd say it will carry on ramping up as the summer goes," Highman said.
But before you go squashing and spraying, remember some bugs are crucial for pollination and our fruit crops depend on them.
Highman has this advice to help keep the bugs at bay.
"Pick up your dog dirt, make sure your rubbish bins are emptied frequently, just try to keep a clean environment, lawn clippings away, anything that attracts them," he said.
Because bugs don't need a second invitation, especially in summer.
