What Would Pests Be Thankful For?

What Would Pests Be Thankful For?

Happy early Thanksgiving from Pointe Pest Control! This Thursday is one of the most popular holidays in the country, thanks to the exciting traditions of eating delicious foods and having a day off from work and school. Many households have an additional Thanksgiving tradition at the start of the big meal, where all of the guests take turns sharing what they are most thankful for in their lives. Some people take their moment of gratitude seriously (good health, a steady income, this delectable meal), while others use it to show off their improv comedy skills (that the one culinarily-challenged relative wasn’t in charge of cooking, a favorite football team’s tight end is now healthy). 

This whole concept leads us to wonder: what if pests could share what they are thankful for? We have a feeling that they would each have a popular answer for this question, so let’s take a look into the imaginary world where common pests would have a seat at the Thanksgiving table to share both what they’re thankful for and what their favorite Thanksgiving dish is from the menu. 

Loved Ones — Termites

If we had to guess the most popular answers to this question, we would place anything related to “family” or “loved ones” near the top of the list. It’s a very understandable answer for anyone to have, and termites would be no different. These pests are eusocial, meaning they live in colonies with countless other termites who are all descended from the same queen. Termite colonies often number in the thousands or hundreds of thousands, but untreated ones can even get up into the millions! There are three classes in every termite colony: soldiers, workers, and swarmers. Each one has its own role to fulfill by doing certain tasks every day, as the fate of the colony depends on the productivity of the termites. Since termites are constantly working — seriously, they don’t sleep — to support each other, they would definitely say that they are thankful for their loved ones. Each termite would be happy to share the feast with their fellow termites. The real pests only eat wood, but we suppose that they would enjoy the stuffing or dressing the most. After all, these pests certainly know what it’s like to be “stuffed” into a hidden space!

Roof Over Our Head — Spiders

Spiders are unfortunately a year-round pest, especially when they find a secure shelter where they can reproduce and capture prey. These pests need to live in a place that gives them a reliable food source, which is essentially anywhere that already has a pest problem since they consistently eat insects. Spiders prefer places that are cool and dry, and they are especially drawn to anyplace that is mostly dark. If they manage to find a hidden corner of a house, they can easily survive the winter months. Due to their love of safe shelters, spiders would likely say that they are thankful for “a roof over our head” or any other way to say a home. Both hunting and web-building spiders enjoy having safe shelters, so they wouldn’t hesitate to share their love for their secure spaces with the rest of the guests at the Thanksgiving table. No matter how large the spider’s home is, it would enjoy the peace that comes with a cool, dry shelter. As for their favorite food, spiders would undoubtedly choose to have more turkey than anything else. The protein content and hot temperature are definitely appealing to these arachnids, as well as the high amount of tryptophan that makes anyone want to go rest in a secluded area!

Carbs — Ants

Thanksgiving dinner is one of the most carb-heavy meals that we eat every year because it’s the perfect time to load up your plate with all of the wonderful comfort foods on the table. Most, if not all, of the side dishes are heavy on the carbohydrates and are enough to satisfy any carb-lover’s cravings. Speaking of cravings, one type of pest with an insatiable appetite is the hardworking ant. These insects are constantly searching for safe food sources that will sustain their colony and provide the workers with enough energy to continue scavenging. Ants aren’t picky with food, as they will generally eat anything with sugar or protein. They also enjoy carb-heavy foods because these items are more filling and give them plenty of energy. This is why the ant’s answer to the titular question would humorously be “carbs” with no further explanation. Real ants will eat items like cereal, crackers, dog food, bread, and chips in order to get their carb fix. But in this fictional world, ants would load up their dinner plates with all of the glorious side dishes, such as mashed potatoes, Grandma’s dinner rolls, and baked yams.

Warm Drinks — Wasps

There is good news and bad news with wasps, in terms of how they relate to this time of year. The good news is that most stinging insects are already dying off for the winter. Wasps are warm weather insects that thrive in hot temperatures, so they cannot survive the upcoming frigid winter. The bad news is that certain species can overwinter by hiding in and around houses, buildings, and sheds. Queen wasps often overwinter by default in order to start their colony anew in the spring. Wasps may not be able to keep warm in the winter, but if they had the choice, we think they would love to enjoy a steaming mug of some hot autumn drink. In fact, they would probably like it so much that their answer to the question would be “warm drinks.” Since real wasps enjoy flower nectar, they have plenty of experience in drinking thicker liquids. In this fictional scenario, their favorite warm drinks would be a latte, cider, hot chocolate, and herbal tea. They would probably have a warm drink with Thanksgiving dinner, where their favorite dish would be cranberry sauce. Wasps wouldn’t mind the canned stuff, but they would definitely prefer the homemade stuff with added ginger (wasps love ginger).

Football Season — Mice

Football season is in full swing, and Thanksgiving is often regarded as a football-related holiday in addition to its association with the famous meal. Many households continue showcasing the big game throughout dinner so that the sports fans in attendance don’t miss the rest of the plays. Real pests may not know how to play football (as far as we know), but one pest that is frequently associated with live football games is the mouse. These rodents are a common football field pest, especially in large stadiums. Just think of all the appealing features available to a humble mouse: hiding spots, trash cans, leftover food, and more. Mice are rapid reproducers when they have a safe shelter, so a stadium mouse infestation can quickly grow if the pests are hidden in unused seating sections or utility rooms. In this fictional world, mice would actually love football for what it is and would answer the posed question with the classic “football season.” They would be thrilled for the Thanksgiving game regardless of who’s playing, especially since these hungry pests will also have a full meal to enjoy. Their favorite food would be any type of pie that’s offered after dinner. The overall winner would probably be pecan pie because it has the additional benefit of including nuts with the high sugar and fat content that mice love.

Shopping Deals — Bed Bugs 

Bed bugs are such an infamous pest that their name is enough to send a shudder down the spine of anyone who hears it. Although they don’t spread disease, their bloodthirsty tendencies still cause us frustration when we are at the receiving end of their relentless bites. Female bed bugs can start laying eggs as soon as they have one blood meal, so an infestation can grow in no time. One bed bug can lay up to 20 eggs after one feeding! The hatched eggs will eventually feed on the same host, provided they are safely undetected at that point. These pests find hosts by detecting our body heat and carbon dioxide output, so they can quickly seek us out after hiding all day. At the fictional Thanksgiving table, bed bugs would say that they’re thankful for the “holiday shopping deals” that come to a culmination on the following day. All of the items that bed bugs frequently hitchhike in and hide on will be on sale across the country, so they have plenty of reason to celebrate. They are probably already thinking of the bedsheets, backpacks, clothes, curtains, and luggage that they will buy on Black Friday. Since their actual favorite food is our blood (gross!), their favorite Thanksgiving food would have to be gravy. Bed bugs would probably douse everything on their plate with the homemade gravy, decide that’s not enough, and pour some more on the side to eat with a spoon when no one’s looking.

Effective Pest Control Is Truly Something To Be Thankful For

Between the delicious food and the (ideally) great company, there is plenty to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. However, a food-centric holiday such as this one comes with the additional risk of attracting hungry pests to the area, which is enough to ruin anyone’s day. From ants to rodents to roaches, there are plenty of pests that would love the chance to feed upon our home-cooked meals. The safest and most efficient way to protect your home from invasive pests all year long is with regular services from Pointe Pest Control. Our team of experienced technicians are dedicated to solving each pest problem with the utmost care and efficiency. All of our treatments are safe for people and pets, so you never have to worry about toxic chemicals contaminating your home. Contact us today for a free quote on our thorough pest control services and give yourself something else to be thankful for this year with our reliable treatments! 

Citations

Bed bugs. (n.d.). Pointe Pest Control. Retrieved November 6, 2023, from https://pointepestcontrol.com/services/bed-bugs/ 

Miche, T. (2023, November 6). What do mice eat?. Miche Pest Control. Available at https://www.michepestcontrol.com/blog/post/what-do-mice-eat (Accessed on November 6, 2023).