Pest Facts
Interesting facts about those unwanted guests
Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are insects from the genus Cimex that feed on human blood, usually at night. Their bites can result in a number of health impacts including skin rashes, psychological effects, and allergic symptoms. Bed bug bites may lead to skin changes ranging from small areas of redness to prominent blisters.
Wasps
Wasps have four stages in their life cycle: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. After mating, a new queen flies off to start a new colony, typically in a tree, a shrub, or under a building eave. She finds dead wood such as bark then chews and mixes it with saliva to form a paper-like pulp.
Bees
Bees are insects with wings closely related to wasps and ants, known for their role in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are not classed as pests and are never killed as without them the planet wouldn’t survive.
Fleas
Fleas, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that survive as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by consuming blood, or hematophagy, from their hosts.
Birds
Columbidae is a bird family consisting of pigeons and doves. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks, and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily feed on seeds, fruits, and plants.
Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers and even more distantly to waders.
Mice
A mouse, plural mice, is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best-known mouse species is the common house mouse. Mice are also popular as pets.
Rats
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus Rattus. Other rat genera include Neotoma, Bandicota, and Dipodomys. Rats are typically distinguished from mice by their size.
Cockroaches
Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattodea, which also includes termites. About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known as pests.
Moths
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of which have yet to be described.
Carpet Beetle
The varied carpet beetle is a 3 mm-long beetle belonging to the family Dermestidae. They are a common species, often considered a pest of domestic houses and, particularly, natural history museums, where the larvae may damage natural fibers and can damage carpets, furniture, clothing, and insect collections.