Common Pests in Every Room of the House – Part 2

Common Pests in Every Room of the House – Part 2

Welcome to part two of Wednesday’s blog! Today is a look at the pests that are commonly found in the typical remaining rooms in a home. Some pests are known for staying in the yard or garden, like aphids, but since all pests have to come from outside, sightings of excessive insects or rodents in the yard is a good reason to call pest control in general. But since the home interior is the main concern, here is a look at the other three rooms that certain pests prefer. 

Bedroom

Pests who enter and stay in the bedroom aren’t there for the decor; these pests are typically drawn to the mattress. It is important to check for signs of insects, like dark spots or eggs, daily to be sure that there are not unwelcome guests having a sleepover with you.

• Bed Bugs: These pests are obviously found in beds, but they are annoyingly great at finding other hiding spots and traveling from one home to another on vehicles like bags, suitcases, clothing (on or packed away), and pillows. They hide in the mattress or bed frame and come out at night to bite their unfortunate bedmate. If you wake up with red, itchy bites that were not there before, it is likely from bed bugs, and should be treated immediately to prevent infection. 
• Fleas: Similar to bed bugs, fleas are drawn to mammals who they can make into a host for their food. Fleas prefer furry mammals because the covering allows them to hide from the outside world and easily suck their blood. They can also lay eggs on a host, so a flea infestation is possible to purely happen on a dog’s or cat’s body. Fleas cannot survive on humans since there is not enough hair (and no fur) to hide in, but they can still bite if they transfer from a pet or their bed. Bites are usually on the lower half of the body for this reason. Dogs and cats are the typical target of fleas, so it is crucial to check your furry friend before they curl up with you in bed. There are many flea treatments on the market now, such as Frontline Plus and K9 Advantix. Humans are not immune to fleas since it is possible for them to jump from one host to another, despite their inability to fly. 
• Dust Mites: True to their name, dust mites love the dust and dander that naturally comes from humans and pets. They mainly live in the bed or carpet where the dander content is highest. People with asthma may experience flare-ups when dust mites are in the area because of their droppings and caste skins. Due to their microscopic size, dust mites are not visible to the naked eye, so it is important to regularly vacuum the room and keep the humidity level low, as dust mites thrive in humidity and more eggs are laid and hatched when it is humid. 
• Spiders: As in the other rooms, spiders are in the bedroom primarily to look for and eat other insects. Their webs can be built anywhere, but they seem to prefer corners of the walls and furniture. A cluttered room is ideal for a spider due to the higher chances of other pests hiding within the mess. It’s good that they are performing their own pest control, but it is helpful to dust the spiderwebs when they are found in order to prevent the spider from multiplying and making themselves even more of a pest.

Bedrooms can be a haven for pests like these, so it is important to keep the area clean and to change the bedsheets regularly. These pests prefer dark, warm places where they can hide and feed. Keep your bedroom clean and free of clutter, and vacuum regularly to get rid of any eggs or larvae on the floor. Regularly check indoor pets for insects clinging on to their fur or skin. When returning from a trip, thoroughly clean any bag or suitcase and look for signs of hitchhiking pests within the layers and clothing.

Laundry Room

Even if there isn’t a designated room in the home for doing laundry, the area with the washer and dryer is still a haven for multiple pests. Any area with a pile of dirty laundry is also a breeding ground for many creatures, as these specific pests all demonstrate.

• Cricket: Surprisingly, crickets love dirty clothing and often drawn to it. Crickets are less attracted to the clothes themselves and more so to the stains that come on dirty clothes. They feed on stains containing foods, drinks, starch, and dirt, and often harm the clothing in the process. Any excrement from the crickets will stain, as will most pest excrement. Crickets make themselves heard through their famous chirping, so it is possible to find the source of the problem by following the sound of the chirps.
• Silverfish: The silvery insects do not stray far from their current food source, which is why they usually stay within dirty laundry once they get in. Silverfish love clothes with food and body stains, and will usually create holes in the fabric by eating along the seam. The favorite clothing materials of silverfish include cotton, rayon, and silk. These pests are nocturnal, so it may be difficult to find them unless you are completing a late-night load of laundry.
• Cockroaches: Cockroaches also love stains and spills on dirty laundry, which is why they create holes in the clothing. They favor food, beverage, and body stains on clothing, and will enjoy anything with starch. Similar to crickets, their feces will also stain clothing and other fabrics. They can carry diseases within their feet and excrement, so it is important to take care of the roach problem as soon as it presents itself. Cockroaches typically require pest control services since they are so resilient, and therefore difficult to exterminate with DIY treatments. 
• Mice: Mice gravitate toward a dirty laundry pile not because of the food sources, like the previous pests, but because it is an ideal nesting place. An undisturbed laundry pile allows the baby mice to grow without interruption. The presence of mice in dirty laundry leads to damaged clothing and rodent droppings staining anything they touch. It is important to do laundry at least once a week or so to prevent the pile from remaining  untouched long enough for a mouse family to move in. 

It’s not necessary to do laundry every day to prevent pests from invading, but it would help to wash clothes semi-frequently. There are many hampers with lids available at most stores, and these may help keep pests out in between loads. It is also helpful to check the hoses and lines to the washer and dryer regularly to be sure there is not a leak that pests would enjoy.

Garage

The garage is the exact middle ground between the indoors and outdoors, making it an ideal habitat for just about every common pest. While finding one insect in the garage is typically not reason to sound the alarms, it can lead to larger problems if the pests are left unchecked and continue to inhabit the space. 

• Silverfish: Silverfish are an insistent sort of pest that make themselves comfortable in any and every part of the home. The garage seems to be their favorite, since there are many food sources and egg-laying sites to be found there. They enjoy eating human food, paper, cardboard, glue, and other silverfish. Female silverfish lay eggs almost daily, and she hides them underneath surfaces in order to protect them. Since these insects are annoyingly fast, it is difficult to catch or kill them without the help of a glue board or a professional. 
• Mice: These pests have the destructive hobby of chewing anything and everything in sight. This leads them to the garage, where they can chew on a multitude of objects and wires. Their favorites seem to be crumbs, car wires, and building materials. Mice build nests in dark, undisturbed spaces (like the dirty laundry pile from earlier), and the potential sites in the garage include in boxes, behind walls, and in the car. It is important to seal any crack and hole in the wall and floor, no matter how small, because mice can fit through the smallest of spaces in order to get where they want to go.
• Spiders: Spiders are also a natural form of pest control in the garage, as there are many smaller pests to eat in there. It is easy for the common spider to spin a web and wait for their prey to fall victim to their trap. But the larger issue arises when the female lays her eggs and creates an infestation of arachnids. An easy way to handle this is to sweep away any spider webs or cobwebs when they are found. It may be nice to have the smaller insects taken care of by the spiders, but the potential for dozens of tiny spiders to be invading the garage is arguably not worth it. 
• Ground Beetles: This group of beetle is known for being on the ground, but they can also fly, which makes it easy for them to enter a garage by a number of ways. These beetles are typically dark in color, which helps them hide underneath objects at night. Many are nocturnal and eat anything from plants to seeds to other insects. They can easily get in when the seal is not tight around the big garage door or side doors. Since they are active at night, they are attracted to any light shining inside the garage. They like to hide underneath objects in the day, so it is helpful to move certain objects and not let anything, like heavy building materials and stones, sit untouched for months. 

An easy way to perform pest control without much thought is to purchase glue boards from any hardware store and place them in the corners and by the doors of the garage. This helps to reduce the number of pests marching into the space, but it may not be enough if a serious infestation is happening. Make sure to close the big garage door and any side doors when not in use in order to keep out many pests. 

Pest Control 

Seeing the signs of any of these pests, or seeing the pests themselves, is a good reason to call pest control before it is too late. Pest control is necessary when a pest infestation becomes too much to handle on your own. Different pests require various methods and levels of treatment, so it is best to consult with a pest control team to get the best advice and services for every room of your home.

Citations

Common bedroom insects. (n.d.). Pest World. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.pestworld.org/pest-in-the-house/bedroom/ 

Common pests & bugs found in the garage. (n.d.). Pest World. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.pestworld.org/pest-in-the-house/garage/ 

Hawes, P. (n.d.). Dirty laundry: Attracting pesky pests into the home. Homeless Pests. Available at https://homelesspests.com/laundry-attracting-pests/ (Accessed on February 28, 2022). 

House dust mites. (n.d.). Pest World. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.pestworld.org/pest-guide/mites/house-dust-mites/ 

Leverette, M.M. (2021, June 6). How to control bugs that eat clothes. The Spruce. Available at https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-control-clothes-eating-insects-2145853 (Accessed on February 28, 2022). 

Silver, N. (2020, September 24). Why fleas prefer our pets over us. Healthline. Available at https://www.healthline.com/health/can-fleas-live-on-humans (Accessed on February 28, 2022).