Are you climbing the walls over bugs climbing your walls? Does your web site have nothing to do with the internet? If so, join the club since a home without insects is a rare home indeed. Your abode may host some or even all of the 7 most common household insects presented here and depending on the bugs, your options range from peaceful coexistence to chemical warfare.
Bed Bugs
Bedbugs are on the rebound and they’ve got you in their sites! These small and stealthy critters differ from most house insects in that they’re out for blood – YOUR blood – but at least they’re gracious enough not to disturb your sleep while they’re at it. Entomologists believe the common bedbug (Cimex lectularius) adapted to human hosts after encountering our ancestors in caves frequented by bats. “To the batcave!…” er, no thanks.
Is it really necessary to cute-ify bedbugs? The nice folks at Tapir and Friends Animal Store think it is, and so they’re offering this “lovely, realistic-looking” stuffed bed bug. The 7” long plush bedbug is tinted rose-pink with big, bulging, black eyes. According to Tapir and Friends, “This bed bug wants to be your friend and promises not to bite.” Lovely indeed.
House Spiders
Up to a dozen different types of spiders are partial to setting up house alongside humans with some so common they’ve been dubbed “House Spiders”. Having spiders in the house is usually a good thing: they either aggressively or passively hunt other insects and make concerted efforts to avoid contact. A list of common spiders prone to living in your home are Yellow Sac spiders, Black or Brown house spiders, American house spiders, and Hobo spiders of which only the last may deliver a bite requiring medical attention.
Also on the list of spiders found in the average home is the Giant House Spider (above). If there are any three words that shouldn’t be combined under any circumstances, Giant, House and Spider would have to be first and foremost. It gets better (OK, worse): Giant House Spiders of the species Tegenaria gigantea are one of the fastest types of spiders, having been clocked at 1.73 ft/s (0.53 m/s). How fast can YOU run?
Cockroaches
One of the most common household insects is also one of the most reviled: cockroaches. Why do we hate them so? I mean, besides their love of filth and garbage, spreading of diseases and the foul odor they emit when crushed… well, the haters may have a point or three there. Even cockroaches have their defenders, however, like the folks at the Cruelty Free Shop who provide the means to expel cockroaches with “nature’s own insect repellants”. Or, you could just dump that mountain of old pizza boxes already.
Cockroaches have been with us since our earliest ancestors left Africa… in fact, we probably helped them hitch a ride outta there – both the American and German Cockroach species originated in Africa. All this cockroach camaraderie can go too far, though, because no matter how much you like the song La Cucaracha naming a restaurant after a roach isn’t really the best idea.
Odorous House Ants
Ants… how can something so small be such a big problem? Numbers, my friends, numbers. Ants are the epitome of the Hive Mind and when the hive’s hungry, “home invasion” takes on a whole new level of creepy-crawliness. While homeowners may encounter all sorts of ants indoors, the most common is a smallish black critter called the Odorous House Ant. Why “odorous”? Step on one and find out.
Only around half the estimated 20,000 ant species have been documented… the rest are lurking under your sink. All kidding aside, ants are to be taken seriously and a host of sci-fi stories, books and films set out the consequences for those who take them lightly. Freaked out by a couple of ants in the kitchen? Could be worse… “Ten miles long, two miles wide — ants, nothing but ants! And every single one of them a fiend from hell; before you can spit three times they’ll eat a full-grown buffalo to the bones. I tell you if you don’t clear out at once there’ll he nothing left of you but a skeleton picked as clean as your own plantation.”
