PEST FACTS
HERE’S AN INTERESTING BUG FACT:
WHAT ARE BUGS AFRAID OF? THE SWAT TEAM!
THAT’S US.
Termites
Termites are eusocial insects, which means that they share labour in their highly organised colonies which consists of a queen, king, workers, troops, and fertile individuals. There are over 2,800 species of termites that have been identified, with a variety of shapes, colours, and behaviours. Subterranean, drywood, and dampwood termites are the most prevalent varieties.
Bed Bugs
Cimex hemipterus
They are small parasitic insects that feed on both human and animal blood. When completely mature, they are flat, reddish-brown, and about the size of an apple seed. Bed bugs are mostly active at night and spend the day hiding in cracks and crevices.
Rodents
With over 2,000 species, rodents make up the biggest order of mammals. They can be found on all continents except Antarctica. They are known for having continuously growing incisor teeth, which is one of their distinguishing features. Rodents have a range of diets, from herbivores to omnivores who eat a wide variety of foods. Some are even predators or scavengers.
Mosquitoes
Culicidae
There are numerous types of mosquitoes, each with distinct traits and preferred habitats. Some species prefer feeding on animals and humans; others do not. Male mosquitoes often consume nectar and other plant-based foods, but only female mosquitoes feed on blood for the development of their eggs.
Cockroach
Blattaria
The cockroach has a long evolutionary history that goes back at least 300 million years. Cockroaches come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colours, and there are more than 4,600 identified species worldwide. They can endure a variety of circumstances, including low temperatures and tropical climes.
Flies
Diptera
With over 120,000 known species, flies are one of the most abundant and widespread insect families. Unlike some other insects that have four wings, flies only have two wings. The halteres, which are tiny, club-like appendages that help flies stay balanced while flying, are reduced from the hindwings.
Ants
Formicidae
Ants are highly social insects that have distinct castes of labourers, soldiers, and a queen, renowned for their level of organisation. The head, thorax, and abdomen are the three primary body sections that make up an ant’s unique body shape. Black, brown, red, yellow, and even some of these colours in combination can all be found in ants.
Wasps
With over 100,000 different species known, wasps are a varied group of insects. Some wasps can sting many times, in contrast to bees that can only sting once. Social wasps and solitary wasps are the two primary kinds of wasps. While solitary wasps do not form colonies and live alone, social wasps, such as yellowjackets and paper wasps, do live in colonies with a queen, workers, and males.
Spider
Araneae
Over 48,000 spider species have been identified, and experts believe that there surely are many more on every continent except Antarctica. Spiders create silk for a variety of uses, including making draglines for movement, egg sac construction, and web construction to catch food. Spinnerets, specialised organs found near the back of the abdomen, generate the silk.
Ticks
Although ticks are not insects, they do belong to the Arachnida class of animals together with spiders and scorpions. They differ from insects in that they have four pairs of legs. Ticks come in a vast array of sizes and forms, with over 900 recognised species. The dog tick and the deer tick are two prominent examples.
Fleas
Siphonaptera
Fleas are among some of the best jumpers in the animal kingdom. They have a maximum vertical leaping distance of 150 times their body length. Fleas undergo complete metamorphosis that includes four developmental stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The host is not used throughout the larval and pupal stages, which are normally spent in the host’s environment.
Beetles
Coleoptera
With over 350,000 documented species, beetles comprise a diverse and extremely successful group of insects, making them the biggest order in the animal kingdom. They exhibit a remarkable variety of sizes, forms, and behaviours. They can range in size from the tiny feather-winged beetles to the Hercules beetle, which can grow to be over 6 inches long.
Crickets
Gryllidae
There are more than 900 different species of crickets around the world. Stridulation is known as the act of male crickets rubbing their wings together to make their distinctive chirping noises. Female Crickets do not chirp and they pay attention to males’ chirping to judge their fitness and make probable partner selections depending on the quality of their chirping.
Gnats
Gnats are small, flying insects belonging to several different families within the order Diptera. The majority of gnat species are quite small, with some only reaching a few millimetres in length. Gnats consist of midges, Fungus Gnats, Sand flies, Black flies, Buffalo Gnats, Fruit Flies. Because of their small size, they may blend in and are frequently challenging to swat or avoid.
Silverfish
Lepisma saccharina
Silverfish are among the most ancient insects known to science, with fossils dating back more than 300 million years. The silvery, scale-like scales that cover their bodies give silverfish their common name. They have three long, tail-like appendages at the back of their flattened, elongated body.
