What’s Bug’n You?

Termites

Each year, termites destroy more homes than fires.

Oklahoma is considered moderately to heavily at risk for termites according to Fuse.

Fun fact!

Termites are considered a delicacy in Singapore. We don’t encourage you to eat them though…

Spiders

Spiders not only build unattractive webs and scare your children, some of these little critters carry a bite that packs quite a punch! Oklahoma is home to many different species of spiders including the deadly black widow, brown recluse, and wolf spider.

Fun fact!

The strongest material in the world is the silk spiders spin in their webs. Even with all of our technology, scientists cannot recreate this design.

Mosquitos

If something will ruin a picnic, BBQ, or playtime outside, it is these little vampires. No one likes the itchy bumps that comes as a result of their bites.

The West Nile Virus is spread through mosquitos. In 2015, it was in 41 states and Washington DC, including Oklahoma. Though only 80% of people infected with the virus actually become ill, it still comes with a host of unpleasant symptoms. Some of these symptoms include fever, body aches, rashes around the body’s mid-section, headaches, and fatigue. Some extreme cases involve people developing meningitis or other neurological diseases.

Fun fact!

There are no Count Draculas in the mosquito world, the only mosquitos that bite are female! Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Or apparently hungry.

Not so fun fact:

Mosquitos are considered the world’s deadliest “animal.”

Crickets

Crickets are worse when we’ve had a prolonged times of dryness and heat followed by times of heavy rain. So Spring and the beginning of Summer were dry and hot and July/August were wet, then crickets are likely to abound.

Fun Fact!

There are a lot of interesting facts about cricket chirping. Only males chirp by rubbing their wings together and the rate at which they chirp depends on the temperature. The hotter it is, the faster the chirp rate! That means crickets can tell what the temperature is outside. Try counting a cricket’s chirp per minute, dividing by 4, and then adding 4. You should get a rough estimate of the temperature!

Bedbugs

Bedbugs are pretty hard to see. Often you may first notice small itchy unsightly bumps on your skin caused by their bite. Some people barely react to the bites so the best to know if you have them is to see the little apple seed sized pests with your own eyes. They are oval shaped, reddish brown, flat, and survive by eating human blood. One bite can feed a bedbug for days.

Fun Fact!

Bedbugs are the ninjas of the pest world. They are so sneaky that their human hosts don’t even feel a bite when it’s dinnertime for the bedbug. These bugs have special saliva that works like an anesthetic so their victims don’t feel the bite or blood extraction.

Silverfish

Silverfish are teardrop shaped, silver with hues of white or blue, and are very fast runners if provoked. They do not bite, so they are medically harmless, but they like to eat things that are starchy like books, wallpaper, your food, or your favorite pair of jeans. They really like cotton and silk.

Fun fact!

Silverfish are very durable! Scientists state that silverfish lived on the earth even before the dinosaurs! It’s no wonder they’ve lasted so long–they are hard to kill, have lifespans of sometimes over 8 years, and can last for a whole year without food!