Insect Pests You Didn't Know Could Infest Your Home

You may already know the signs of a rat infestation, and if you started getting lots of itchy bites in bed at night you'd suspect bedbugs. But some types of pests are less well-known for a variety of reasons, so you may not be aware what to look out for, how to identify these intruders, or whether they pose a health and safety threat.Here are some types of insects that can infest your home and may cause unpleasantness, damage to belongings, or worse. 1. Crickets You probably don't often hear the words "cricket infestation" unless you're a professional exterminator. Yet crickets can indeed infest homes, and can cause significant damage to some of your belongings. Specifically, they tend to feed on clothing and other fabric items.Crickets typically live outdoors when it's warm enough. Cooler weather during the winter months may cause the crickets to move into your house for shelter, resulting in an infestation. 2. Powderpost Beetles You've probably heard that termites and carpenter ants can damage any portions of your home made of wood. But although they're less common, powderpost beetles can also damage wooden materials.These small beetles can cause a slow infestation, as their life cycle takes longer to complete in an indoor situation. However, they can damage the structural elements of the home, and as such should be treated seriously. Treatments can include fumigation, insecticide applications, or removal of affected lumber. 3. Lady Beetles and Asian Beetles Lady beetles, also known as ladybugs, are a highly beneficial insect in gardens. They eat aphids and other scourges of gardeners everywhere. However, seeing a familiar orangey-red spotted beetle in your home is not necessarily a good thing. One reason is that a lookalike bug, the Asian beetle or Asian lady beetle, often invades homes and is much less pleasant.Asian beetles, unlike native ladybugs, actually bite humans. Even worse, some people can develop pink eye from these bites. The bugs also make a nasty odor when threatened and, when squished, may stain surfaces in your home.You may be able to tell Asian beetles apart by their appearance: they're typically less red and more orange than ladybugs. Native ladybugs can sometimes end up inside your home; however, if you have hundreds of ladybug-like insects in your home, you likely have Asian beetle infestation. These invasive insects are even pushing ladybugs out of their habitats.A professional exterminator can help you to oust these insects from their hiding places and release the grip they have on your home. 4. Clover Mites These tiny bugs may look like spiders or even ticks. But unlike those types of pests, a clover mite is relatively innocuous. When these bugs infest your home, they're probably just looking for shelter from the weather (such as very wet or hot conditions).Because these bugs don't bite humans, aren't poisonous, and mainly eat weeds such as clover, they're not considered dangerous. They can, however, be inconvenient if too many show up in your house, and they leave red stains when crushed.If you see many tiny spider-like creatures with a bright red color, clover mites may be in your home. However, be sure to have a professional exterminator assess the situation to ensure you don't have a more dangerous type of bug. A professional can both correctly identify the insects and help you get them out of your life for good.These are some of the lesser-known types of insect infestations that could occur in your home. However, this list is far from comprehensive, since dozens of insect pests exist. Be sure to hire a professional such as Gainesville Pest Control LLC for high-quality extermination of any insect pests you find in your home.