What If Pests Could Dress Up For Halloween?

What If Pests Could Dress Up For Halloween?

Happy Halloween from Pointe Pest Control! We hope you have a fun day of dressing up and eating just as much candy as you hand out tonight. Whether or not you are actually donning a costume for the festivities today, it is still fun to see what other people dress up as and how they pull off such elaborate or interesting costumes. Insects and spiders are no stranger to Halloween, but what if the pests we know so well could wear their own costumes? Let’s explore the possibilities of pests dressing up for this holiday and why they might choose specific fun  costumes for their own personal reasons.

Fruit Flies – M&M’s

Group costumes are one of the trickiest parts of Halloween. It is important to make sure that everyone in the group looks similar and has the same level of intricacy and attention so that one member doesn’t outshine the others, especially if the costumes are homemade. Another group that is coordinated is a fruit fly family. These flies all tend to stay in the same area since the eggs are laid in overripe fruit or organic matter to give the larvae immediate food. They multiply extremely quickly since female fruit flies can lay up to 500 eggs. And since their life span is usually a short couple of weeks, fruit flies use that time to reproduce quickly and eat as much as they can in order to continue the generations. If they could dress up for Halloween, fruit flies would likely do a colorful group costume, such as M&M’s. This colorful candy is a popular choice for friend groups who just want to easily throw on a colored shirt with an “m” on the front, right up the fruit fly’s alley. They would have a wide range of colors to make sure their giant friend group has distinct colors. And when they knock on a door and are asked why some are wearing colors that aren’t the standard 6 M&M’s colors, the fruit flies would just say that they included all of the special holiday editions of the candy that release every year. 

Mantids – Professional Athletes

The praying mantis is a strange insect. We don’t often think of them first when hearing the word “pest,” but they are very common in gardens and backyards. This is because they are experts at staying as still as a statue and waiting for their prey to unknowingly come to them. Mantids can also be huge and measure up to five inches, which can definitely be intimidating for anyone with even a hint of entomophobia. This is why they would consistently dress up as professional athletes every Halloween, and just rotate between their favorite sports. Their favorite players would happen to be some of the tallest, very fitting for the mantid’s stature. They would just wear their Aaron Judge, Austin Allen, or Kevin Durant jersey with the pants or shorts that match that player’s sport. The mantis does not need a lot of fuss or frills in real life, so their Halloween costume wold not be nearly as elaborate as some others. It wouldn’t matter if the mantid is trick-or-treating or just attending their friend’s big party; the praying mantis would show up in their classic costume that everyone just knows to expect from them at this point.

Moths – Fairies

Moths are one of the most common Halloween pests just because of how many porches and porch lights we come across while trick-or-treating. Moths flock to lights because they use the moon for their navigation and like to keep it above them. If they come across an artificial light that is lower in height than the moon (which is all of them), they will dart to keep this light above them as their new “moon.” Since they love all things bright and shiny, moths would love dressing up as fairies. They would also travel in groups since there are always multiple moths at a light. The moth friend group would have different colored wings and outfits from each other to have a wide range, but they would definitely all have that secret ingredient that many adults dread seeing in the house: glitter. Their wings would have so much glitter, they would be reflective. The moths would even use body glitter and sprinkle some in their hair to make sure every part of them sparkled. The only reason they would stop trick-or-treating for the night would be because all of the houses turned off their lights; otherwise, the moths could keep going all night without getting tired, especially once they break into the candy.

Rats – Chefs

This one may be too obviously connected, but hear us out. Rats love food in general, not just the famous rat from the beloved Pixar movie. They are some of the best scavengers of the animal kingdom, scrounging for whatever scraps they can find in the garbage or in kitchens. Rats may not have the incredible culinary skills of Remy from Ratatouille, but they still know how to bring enough “food” home to their growing family. If they could dress up for Halloween, rats would wear some version of a chef’s uniform every year. Their standard would be the classic one with the white coats and hats like in the movie, but they could also dress up like famous celebrity chefs (usually Guy Fieri or Julia Child) when they want to go all-out. The rats would carry around any cooking utensil they could find, but typically just settle for a spatula or wooden spoon to really sell the costume. Their candy-carrying mechanism would either be a soup pot, if they want to get a little humorous with it, or a pillowcase, if they can’t find anything else. Rats would also be happy with any candy they receive as well as the rejected candy from their friends, since no food is bad to the rat.

Roaches – Stranger Things Characters

Roaches may be the worst pests ever, and they are unfortunately still active when the weather is cooler. They might be even more of a problem this time of year since they are searching for a warm shelter in which to devour any food they can find and reproduce extremely quickly to cause more problems for us. Although it is fairly common to find a lone roach searching for food, they are never truly alone. Where one roach is, many more are sure to follow. Since roaches would predictably also be in a group on Halloween, they would need to find a costume idea to fit their interests. This is why a TV show, Stranger Things specifically, would be perfect for the roaches. They would definitely love this show if they could watch it, and there are plenty of characters to fit the friend group. This concept would also be perfect for the roaches since they could use whatever they find at home and it would likely work. One roach may even find a stash of clothes from the ‘80s, which would add the perfect authentic touch to the costumes. If there is a group that could pull off dressing like characters from a dark, supernatural show, it would definitely be the roaches.

Spiders – Cowboys

One of the most common costumes every year is the classic cowboy or cowgirl. This makes sense considering how easy it is to do; everyone either has the components somewhere in their home or they can easily find them at the thrift store. It is also an easy costume to either wear independently or coordinate as a group, so it is very versatile. Do you know which pest is also versatile? Spiders! They can be found in all seasons, as long as they have a dry corner to hide in, and they can live indoors or outdoors. Most species use their webs as homes in addition to catching their prey, while others prefer to go out and hunt for their sustenance. Spiders would definitely utilize the cowboy costume every year, but it would not be the basic boots-and-hat ensemble. They would alter their own vest and chaps to have an intricate design, and they would find the matching hat and boots after extensive searching. Spiders would typically dress up independently and later join their friends at a party full of a variety of costumes, but they may occasionally match with one or two friends. Spiders would also prefer to visit a party in their costume rather than trick-or-treat since they can just stand to the side and not be the center of attention when they are surrounded by other costumes.

Termites – Scooby-Doo Characters

Termites are possibly the most dreaded wood-boring pests out there. They not only gnaw into the wood to craft their tunnels, they also consume the wood as they go. And since termite colonies can number in the hundreds of thousands after a while, they can go through a lot of wood! Termite swarmers may fly out to search for a new nesting place alone, but a colony will soon follow, since the eusocial insects need to live in community with their colony and queen. Their group costume would also be something relating to a spooky theme that is easy to put together, which is why the classic Scooby-Doo gang would be the perfect choice. Although the group is only five strong, termites would make it work by including some of the classic monsters and ghouls that the group runs into on their adventures. The termites would either just buy the pre-made costumes online, or they would go the extra mile to DIY the outfits at home. Whichever they choose, they would want to make them as accurate as possible to do right by their favorite franchise. Nobody knows exploring dark, uncharted territories with a potentially creepy vibe than termites do, which is also why they would be sure to visit a haunted house on Halloween for the maximum spooky effect.   

Wasps – Favorite Superhero

There are many different directions a person can take a superhero costume. There are plenty of options at the costume store or big box store, the easiest options. There are handmade or printed costumes available for purchase online from small businesses or fan shops. The DIY-gifted individual can even make their own costume from pieces they have at home, embellished with some pieces they found online or at the store. Wasps are crafty in real life, but in a much different way. They mainly eat nectar or honeydew from aphids, but some species eat other insects and feed them to the wasp larvae. In addition to pollinating our flowers and eating some common garden pests, wasps can be a problem if their nest is disturbed at all. They can be very aggressive when threatened, and they will release pheromones to their colony as an alert to attack the enemy. Wasps would definitely be into superheroes, and they would dress up as their favorite one every year. It changes every year, but it would probably be Wasp (of course) this Halloween in anticipation for the upcoming film. The wasps would likely make their costumes at home, thanks to their crafting skills, and meet up with their other superhero-themed friends at the huge Halloween party down the street.  

Pointe Pest Control – The Best Pest Control Services!

It may be difficult to find a costume for this one, but one thing is for sure: pests are not a treat that we want any day of the year. Pest invasions tend to occur more frequently during the colder seasons because they need to stay as warm as possible. Insects are ectothermic, which means they are cold-blooded and therefore dependent on the weather to dictate their activities and energy level for the day. Our pest control services are here during every season, and we are happy to provide treatments for all kinds of pest problems! Contact us to learn how our services can leave your home free of pests year-round (besides the plastic spiders your kids may have scattered around the house).

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