What Are the Most Dangerous Household Pests?

While pests aren’t necessarily a threat to human life, they may pose a health risk. More likely, they will cause extensive and costly damage to your home. Here we’ve listed the dangerous household pests most common in Utah. Knowing how to identify pests and signs of pests in your home correctly will help you take action before they cause problems.

Cockroaches

Cockroaches are an annoyance worldwide. In Utah, the German cockroach is the most common inside-dwelling cockroach. However, many cockroach species can reside inside homes and are challenging to eliminate.

You can identify cockroaches by their oval-shaped brown bodies, long antennae, and hard exoskeletons. Unfortunately, spotting even just one often means there's an infestation nearby.

Mice and Rats

Rats and mice are both rodents. They may seem cute and furry, but rodents are wild and filthy animals. They carry diseases and leave droppings and urine everywhere they go, posing huge health risks, and they love to chew things, which is bad news for your home.

While rats and mice seem similar, the two have some critical differences. Rats are larger, with smaller ears and eyes and long bodies. Mice tend to be much smaller, with larger, rounder ears and eyes. While these differences may seem minor, dealing with a rat infestation is different from dealing with a mouse infestation, so it's crucial to know the difference.

Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are small, flat-bodied insects with red-brown coloring. They resemble apple seeds and are smaller than you might expect, between 1–7 millimeters long. If you suspect your home is experiencing a bed bug infestation, you'll want to call the professionals of Thorn right away.

Termites

Termites can be difficult to identify because not all termites within the nest look the same. The look of termites varies depending on their job. Most termites range in color from tan to brown, but some are a pale cream color. Some look like ants, whereas others have large heads and menacing-looking jaws.

Termites don't pose a health risk, but they can ruin a home in just a matter of weeks. If you believe termites are present in your home, there's no time to waste.

Carpet Beetles

While carpet beetles are a slightly less common problem, they can still be a nuisance. Adult carpet beetles are pollen eaters and typically don't cause damage inside a home. But if they fly in through an open window or ride in on some cut flowers and find a spot they like, they will lay eggs. When those eggs hatch, the real problems begin.

Carpet beetle larvae are tiny, hairy worms that are voracious eaters. Their bristle-like pointy hairs can irritate the skin and airways, creating issues for people with sensitive skin, allergies, and asthma. They're known for eating through pantry goods and natural fiber items like silk and wool. Thoroughly and frequently cleaning rugs, drapes, and furniture and regular vacuuming are effective ways to remove and prevent carpet beetles from taking over your home and causing problems.

Whatever your pest problems, you don't have to deal with them alone. At Thorn, we use science-backed, environmentally-friendly methods to remove pests from your home and prevent them from returning. Contact us today!