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Bugs are back unusually early in East Tennessee

You may have noticed them sneaking out of the woodworks.

We all noticed how beautiful the weather was Tuesday, but we're not the only ones looking to spend time in the sun.

"Well, they're out. Out and about. And way earlier than usual," said Brian Smith, service manager at Russell's Pest Control.

He's talking about bugs.

You may have noticed them sneaking out of the woodworks.

"What we're seeing on the outside ... getting a lot of calls for boxelder [bugs] that are all over the sides of homes," Smith said. "Yeah that's a little strange for February."

A couple months early, these boxelders have made their presence known.

Living on one garage in North Hills in Knoxville, even a heavy dose of ant spray won't ruin their day basking in the sun.

Credit: WBIR
Boxelder bugs cluster in the sun on a garage in North Hills on Feb. 27.

You may also be seeing stink bugs, Asian lady beetles and kudzu bugs.

Experts say it's because of the unseasonably warm streak of weather in Knoxville.

"This is not terribly unusual to have a warm up," said Neal Denton, UT Extension Agent. "It is a little unusual to have it this early, and with these kind of temps. We've had regular temperatures. So this is, this is an oddity."

RELATED: Will warm weather make dogwoods bloom early?

Smith said even though the bugs are crawling out earlier this year it does not mean they'll be disappearing any sooner than usual.

"Definitely won't go away earlier," he said. "Populations are going to increase. We'll see a lot more of everything as long as temperatures stay warm and we don't see another hard freeze."

But the chances of seed a hard freeze again this year are pretty high.

On average, Knoxville will see a hard freeze some time in April.

Until then, pest control businesses are staying busy.

So are homeowners, trying to get rid of creeping and crawling visitors.

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