If you’re someone who dreams of being a contestant on Jeopardy, or if you just like to pocket random insect facts, then this blog is for you!
The Lowcountry is no stranger to a wide variety of insect pests. Many are simply a nuisance, while others pose serious health and life risks to you, your family, and your pets. Few people truly like insects, and for good reasons! They are creepy, they are crawly, and they truly define the word “pest”. There are many well known truths and many myths surrounding common Lowcountry pests. But some of these bits of insect trivia will surprise you; and some will probably even make you squeamish. Check out our top 5 insect facts we bet you didn’t know!
7 out of 10 of the most dangerous insects are active in our area!
Aside from the basic reasons to dislike insects (creepy, crawly, flat out gross!), there is one very strong reason: many are extremely dangerous to humans! Out of the top 10 most dangerous insects, 7 of them are found in our area. That is troubling! The most notable dangerous insects from the top 10 list found in the Lowcountry are:
- Fire ants
- Mosquitoes
- Deer ticks
- Puss caterpillars
- Helminths (Parasitic worms)
- Kissing bugs
- Human botfly
Some cicadas can make sounds nearly 120 decibels loud.
You read that correct! To put this into perspective, this decibel level is comparable to that made when operating heavy machinery/equipment and is only 20 decibels below the pain threshold. The average decibel level of cicadas is 90-100 dB, which is comparable to a Boeing 737 aircraft at one nautical mile. That’s loud!
Mosquitoes are responsible for more human deaths than any other insect or animal.
Mosquitoes are not just pesky creatures that we all hate – they are often considered the most dangers insect in existence! They are incredibly dangerous, bloodsucking beasts that transmit diseases like West Nile and (more commonly) malaria to its victims. Not only do they spread disease but can cause fever, diarrhea, dengue (breakbone fever), and even death. Each year, this vampire pest kills more than one million people around the world.
A cockroach can live for a week after being decapitated.
Cockroaches are infamous for their tenacity and are often cited as the most likely survivors of a nuclear war. How? Unlike humans, cockroaches do not have a large network of blood vessels or tiny capillaries that you need a lot of pressure to flow blood through. They have an open circulatory system, which there is much less pressure in. After their heads are cut off, their necks seal off just by clotting – there is no uncontrolled bleeding, as there is with humans.
Bedbugs can survive for an entire year without food.
A full-grown bed bug can survive without feeding for up to a year. As a result, they are very difficult to get rid of them. They could be hiding in your attic, inside walls or under the bed, waiting for an opportunity to feed and quickly disappear without a trace. What food do they wait to get? YOU !