No home is ever completely immune to pest infestation. As such, Americans spend millions of dollars yearly to manage these unwanted visitors. Unfortunately for us, these pesky critters and crawlers have been in existence longer than we have and will probably be here well after we’re gone. So, how do we defend our homes against these invaders?
Like any good exterminator, your best strategy to outwitting these bugs and insects is to understand how they live and breed. House bugs come in many sizes and forms. Some are specific to a certain locality while there are those that can live in any kind of weather conditions. Of the hundreds of pest species known to man, here are a few of the most likely ones to invade your home.
1. Cockroaches
With 4 different kinds of roaches that can take permanent residency in your home, it is essential that you learn the tricks to tracking them down. These six-legged crawlers can live in the filthiest of environments so long as there is food. Apart from giving off an unpleasant odor, these insects are also carriers of disease causing germs that can contaminate your food and home.
Naturally resilient, roaches can live through the hottest or coldest of temperatures and can survive for months without food or water. As they pose certain risks that can endanger your family’s health, completely eliminating them is a must for any homeowner.
2. Spiders
Although there are certain species of spiders that can actually help rid your home of nasty pests that prey on your food, there are those that can harm your pets and loved ones. As a number of these creepy crawlers are venomous and hostile, it is best to call in a professional pest control company to exterminate them.
3. Ants
Ants are hardworking and cunning creatures that can live for months and years unnoticed. Like other pests, they also scour your home for food crumbs to take to their home. While these ants pose no threats to your home, their sheer number can be a terrible nuisance to you and your loved ones.
4. Bed Bugs
As one of the scariest of the infestation problems, bed bugs are a quick means to having to replace all your furniture, and can easily create a permanent blemish on your home’s value if not eradicated quickly. With so many ways to bring these pests into your home, such as staying in an infested hotel, it is essential to discover this problem quickly and have no mercy in getting rid of the little buggers.
5. Fruit Flies
Always in search for foods that are rotting or fermenting, fruit flies rapidly multiply and can infest your home in very short span of time. Just to give you an idea, a single fruit fly can lay up to 500 eggs in its 1 week lifetime which means that they can grow to thousands in just a matter of 7 days. As they are attracted to food and rotting fruits, these flies mostly center around the kitchen and in order to eradicate them, you need to throw out all their possible food sources in your home.
6. Termites
Of all the pests, termites cause the biggest damage as they feed on your home’s very foundation. As these tiny insects reside underground, they are quite difficult to detect, let alone exterminate. If you are facing a termite infestation, it is more practical to call in the experts to prevent further damage on your home.
These bugs, though small in size, can wreak their own brand of havoc in your home. By educating yourself on their behavior, you become better equipped in defending your home against their invasion.
Carla is a writer for BedBugs.org, where you can learn about the effectiveness of a bed bug detection dog, as well as the various bed bug bite symptoms that will allow you to recognize an infestation early.