Soil-transmitted parasitic nematodes infect over 1 billion people and are a major source of neglected disease, particularly in the world's most resource-limited communities. For most parasitic nematode species, reproductive adults exclusively reside within host animals. Species in the genus Strongyloides have a unique step in their life cycle that features soil-dwelling, non-parasitic adults. Previous studies of the free-living model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans have identified temperature as an important factor in ability of free-living nematodes to survive and reproduce in the environment. Our study investigates how the thermosensory behaviors of Strongyloides free-living adults contribute to their survival as well as their role in amplifying the quantity of infective larvae in the soil. We show that Strongyloides free-living adults display broad thermophilic preferences that are highly distinct from those of C. elegans adults. We also present the first evidence that thermotaxis acts as a robust mechanism for maximizing the infectious capacity of Strongyloides species located in tropical climates.