Bzzzzzzzz. Slap. Bzzzzzzzzz. Slap.
Ahh, the soothing sounds of summer. Or in this case, a dread-filled realization that as nice as winter was, summer is starting early.
And that means an influx of our warm-weather frenemies -- creepy, crawly, stinging, buzzing, flying insects.
But did the mild winter and temperate spring really incubate the perfect swarm of bugs and other pests?
You can put down the swatter. According to local bug experts, bugs got about a three-week jump on summer, but shouldn't produce a bumper crop of annoyance.
"How many bugs we see in the spring is a lot more complicated than a mild winter," said Jeff Hahn, an extension entomologist at the University of Minnesota.
The Eastern tent caterpillar, for example, which normally starts to worm its way into sight in late April, started showing up in March, four weeks ahead of schedule, Hahn said.
Pest control companies in the metro area started getting calls about carpenter ants in March, which normally spike in May, said Todd Leyse, president at Adam's Pest Control in Medina.