How Are All of the Bugs Getting Into My House?
Does it seem like you’re barely making any headway in your ongoing battle against invading bugs? Keeping these obnoxious critters out can often feel like a master class in futility—no matter how much you try and what prevention methods you take, it seems like the bugs always find a new way to get in. Where are they coming from? What’s causing them to want to get into your home so badly? These are all questions we have been seeking to answer for ages, and today we’re fortunate to have learned a thing or two about bug behavior.
If you’re tired of constantly struggling against bugs, this blog has some helpful information that can help you. Here are a few tips that can help you better understand where the bugs are coming from, and thus how you can keep them out.
Bugs Fit Through Smaller Spaces Than You Think
How are large bugs getting into your home in the first place? Sure, a tiny ant or fly might seem logical—they can squeeze through the screens over your windows or fly through an open door during the short amount of time you have it open for. However, how are larger bugs managing to do so? Surely you’d see them trying to get in and their larger size would mean they can’t get in so easily.
The truth is Your home has a number of cracks, gaps, or spaces where bugs can get in that you may not know about. Cracks in your foundation may provide enough space for an army of ants to sneak through, while gaps in your attic ventilation can allow spiders, roaches, and plenty of other pests to sneak in. These small gaps may not seem like much, but they’re more than enough space for bugs to squeak through. This brings us to the second point: bugs are remarkably capable of slipping through even small cracks and spaces. Roaches can wedge their way under sliding glass doors, rats and mice can flatten their bodies down to several times thinner than what they normally would be. This remarkable capability means your home may not be quite the impenetrable fortress you imagine it is.
Bugs Have Needs Just Like Us
Even though we look nothing like bugs, insects and crawlers have needs exactly like we do as humans. Bugs also need water to survive, albeit a much smaller amount of it. Bugs need shelter and protection from the sun and the elements, which is why they so often try to make their homes in places that are secluded and at the very least somewhat sheltered.
Bugs also need a stable supply of food, and that’s why they tend to target the places that they do. For example, spiders tend to weave webs in places where they know other bugs will be present. For example, they love to cover gaps between different surfaces, where a passing fly or mosquito might unwittingly fly. When they do, they’ll get stuck in the spider’s web, where they become a free, easy meal for the spider.
Your home is designed to provide for your needs, and thus it very much does the same for bugs. This is what motivates bugs to find their way in, and thus increases your need to protect your home and keep them out.
Bugs Have a Phenomenal Sense of Smell
How do bugs know what your home has to offer? Easy: they have a phenomenal sense of smell. While bugs don’t have a nose in the same way humans do, they can pick up on extremely small traces of all types of odors through their antennae. In fact, insect antennae give these creatures a smelling sense that is hundreds or even thousands of times better than our own.
Believe it or not, this sense of smell is often what leads bugs to your home, and to the route in. By following their smell receptors, they can quickly track down the tiny crack or gap they need to sneak into your home, and then continue to follow the scent until they reach the source. This is why bugs are so often seen in high-odor areas, including kitchens and bathrooms—their sense of smell has led them there. If you want to truly keep the bugs out, you’ll need to prevent food odors and other bug-attracting smells from leaving your home.
If you’re sick of losing the fight against bugs time and time again, make the call to the experts at Hopper Termite & Pest Control! Dial (870)425-4122 to schedule an appointment today.
