Biting Insects

Insects that bite are more than a nuisance. They can transmit disease as well as leave a nasty bite mark. Fleas, mosquitoes and lice can bite and transmit diseases.

Female mosquitoes pierce the skin to feed on blood of humans and animals. Adult fleas will bite humans and animals to find a blood meal. Hair, body, and public lice feed on human blood.

Mosquitoes and fleas will move from host to host and once they have fed on an infected host they can easily transmit the disease to their next host. In this way diseases can spread rapidly and quickly become out of control in the right environment. Body lice can transmit disease between humans.

Entry: Mosquitoes gain entry to your home through open doors and windows or hitchhike on you from outside. Fleas jump on a host passing by, either outside or inside and lay eggs on the ground or floor of your home. Lice are transferred by contact with another person.

Do-it-yourself Effectiveness: Cleaning your home often by vacuuming, dusting, and disposing of garbage in airtight bags away from your home will deter some insects. Don’t share hats or brushes with others and don’t try on hats in stores. Avoid places where fleas may be present, and treat your pets right away if fleas are found. Treatment of your yard and perimeter may be necessary to control fleas if the infestation has grown too large.

Thrips

Size 1 to 5 millimeters Color Yellow, orange or black with whitish or translucent wings. Description Thrips are tiny, narrow insects, with adorned wings. Thrips use their mouths to lacerate surface cells on a plant’s stem, leaves, or fruit, and drink the fluid that is produced from the bite. Some thrips are beneficial, such as more »

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Pubic (Crab) Lice

Size 1/8″ Color Tan to grayish-white Description They have six legs and look like tiny crabs, thus the nickname “crabs.” Pubic lice are parasitic in nature and infect humans around the world. Pubic lice is one of the most common infections in today’s adolescents and young adults. Usually pubic lice are transmitted sexually, but can more »

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Kissing Bug

Size 6/8″ Color Varies from dark brown to black. Some species have six reddish, orange spots on both their sides. Description They look like flattened insects with extended, cone-shaped heads bearing a pair of five to six-segmented, elbowed antennae and a prominent “beak.” Kissing bugs received their name because they usually bite people near their more »

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Human Head Lice

Size 1/8” Color Light gray Description Human Head Lice lay their eggs on the hair shaft, close to the scalp. The egg cases, called nits, are sticky and will not come off during regular hair washing but must be picked off or combed off with a very fine toothed comb. The adult head lice crawl more »

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House Mosquito

Size 1/8”-1/4” Color Brown Description The house mosquito is larger than a fly and distinguishable by its long legs, long wings and its proboscis, a straw like mouth used to suck blood or nectar. Both the male and female will drink nectar but only the female will drink blood. The female House Mosquito deposits eggs more »

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Cat Flea

Size 1/6” Color Reddish brown Description The Cat Flea is the most common flea found on pets, preferring domestic dogs and cats as its host. The Cat Flea can carry eggs of the tape worm parasite and transfer the tapeworm to the dog or cat. The female lays as many as 18 eggs a day. more »

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Bird Lice

Size 1/8” Color Cream to brown Description Bird Lice are small and vary in color and hard to see. Eggs are attached to the feather, close to the skin and hatch in a few days. Bird lice will not leave a bird host in search of an animal or pet host but have been known more »

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Bed Bugs

Size 1/16”-1/4” Color Reddish-Brown Description Bed Bugs are reddish-brown, oval shaped and flat. They hide in sheets, blankets, seams of mattresses, carpet, baseboards, behind wallpaper and in furniture. They venture out at night to feed. Bed bugs can live more than a year and lay up to eight eggs a day. Bed Bug infestations have more »

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Asian Tiger Mosquito

Size 1/4” Color Black with white stripes Description The Asian Tiger Mosquito is a smaller mosquito with a black body and legs with white stripes that lend to its easily identifiable tiger look. They lay eggs in small spaces of water rather than larger water like marshes. Unlike other mosquitoes, the Asian Tiger Mosquito feeds more »

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