Top 11 Common Household Pests

How To Deal with Unwanted Pests Invading Your House

Pests can be annoying and damaging when they invade our homes. Learning to identify signs of an infestation and taking action early is key to getting rid of them. While some common house pests may just be a nuisance, others can cause structural damage or spread disease. Thankfully, most can be controlled with vigilance and proper treatment.

Signs of Pests in Your Home

Watch for these common signs that you may have unwelcome pests:

• Droppings – Check along baseboards, under appliances, and in cabinets for small black specks from roaches or rodents, or light-colored specks from moths. Termite droppings resemble sawdust.
• Odors – A musty, urine-like, or rotten food smell may indicate an established pest population.
• Damage – Look for gnaw marks, torn fabrics, tiny holes in food packaging, etc. Termites and carpenter ants damage wood.
• Bites – Itchy red bumps may be from fleas, bed bugs, or mosquitoes.
• Sightings – Actually seeing the destructive pests themselves is an obvious red flag.

Common Household Pest Infestations

1. Ants

Ants enter Australian homes looking for food and water sources. Common nuisance ants include pavement, pharaoh, thief, and Argentine ants. Signs are trails of workers, nests outdoors in landscaping, and swarmers indoors. Manage them by sealing cracks, cleaning up food spills, using baits and localised treatment solutions if necessary.

2. Cockroaches

Cockroach infestation feeds on debris and can transmit bacteria. The small German cockroach and larger American cockroach are common indoor pests. Use sticky traps for monitoring. Apply gel baits or spray insecticides into cracks and crevices to control populations.

3. Mice & Rats

Mice and rats enter structures seeking food sources and shelter. They contaminate surfaces with feces and urine and chew on materials like wood and wiring. Use snap traps and rodenticides for control, along with sealing holes to prevent entry.

4. Spiders

Common house spider species like daddy long legs feed on small insects indoors. Though bites are rare, a few species like black widows, brown recluses, redback spider can be dangerous. Remove webs and egg sacs. Apply insecticides only if necessary and use glue boards for monitoring spider activity.

5. Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are small, flat, wingless insects that hide in mattresses and bedding and feed on human blood at night. Look for dark spots from their droppings and live bugs in folds and seams of beds and furniture. Use encasements, heat treatment, freezing, and insecticides to eliminate them.

6. Termites

Termites eat cellulose material and can severely damage wooden structural components of buildings if left untreated. Watch for piles of winged swarmers, mud tubes on foundation walls, or wood that sounds hollow when tapped. Use subterranean termite baits, soil treatments, or fumigation for whole-structure protection.

7. Bees & Wasps

Stinging insects like bees, European wasps, hornets, and yellowjackets nest outdoors but sometimes build hives and wasp nests under eaves or inside wall voids of houses. Their nests have honeycomb-like structures made from wax. Professional removal of hives is recommended. After that, insecticidal dust treatments can help keep new queens from entering in early spring.

8. Textile Pests

Clothes moths, carpet beetles, and fruit flies feed on materials found indoors like wool, cotton, silk and other fabrics. They leave small holes, trails of shed skins, and particles behind. Use pheromone traps to monitor for adults and have wool items professionally cleaned to kill larvae.

9. Fleas & Ticks

Fleas and ticks ride into homes on pets and livestock. They leave itchy bites on people and animals and can transmit diseases. Apply veterinarian-recommended topical monthly treatments to pets. Vacuum thoroughly and use sprays or foggers approved for indoor flea elimination as needed inside the home.

10. Silverfish

Silverfish feed on starchy materials and can damage books, photos, wallpaper, and fabrics. Signs include sightings of the small insects and their exoskeleton moltings. An application of insecticide mixed with diatomaceous earth into cracks and crevices can help reduce their numbers.

11. Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes breed outdoors in standing water but often find ways indoors to bite humans and pets at night. They are difficult to control once inside, so make sure screens are in good repair. Removing breeding sites, using spatial repellents, fans or air conditioning at night helps reduce bites. In some regions, mosquitoes can transmit diseases like Zika, Ross River and West Nile virus. Protect yourself accordingly when traveling or spending time outside, especially at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active.

The Bottom Line

As you can see, there are many common pests that may end up inside your home. Being able to identify them is the first step toward control. Sanitation, exclusion, traps, barriers, and population-specific insecticides can then be used to eliminate them.

Getting a handle on an infestation early makes treatment easier. For severe pest problems or termite infestation, it is best to have a professional pest control company inspect and manage the situation. They have the proper equipment, insecticides, and experience to take care of hard-to-control creepy crawlies.

With some vigilance and attention to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles, you can keep annoying common household pests from invading your home environment. Contact us for regular inspection and professional pest control services.