Amazing Pest Facts

10 Common Australian Pests and Fascinating Things About Them

Pests – we all deal with them at some point, invading our homes and gardens looking for food sources or shelter. But there’s a lot more to many critters than meets the eye. Read on for some amazing facts about 10 of the most common pests found around Australian households. You might just gain a new appreciation for these often uninvited guests!

1. Cockroaches

Cockroaches have been around for 350 million years! They can live a month without food and 45 minutes without water. They can also live for 7 days without a head. A one-day-old baby roach can run almost as fast as its parents.

2. Spiders

There are over 10,000 species of spiders in Australia, more than anywhere else in the world. Jumping spiders have excellent eyesight and can see colors. Trapdoor spiders construct burrows with hinged doors to catch prey. Some tarantulas keep frogs as pets – to eat different species of insects!

3. Flies

A housefly hums in the key of F. Flies taste with their feet. They flap their wings 200 times per second. Within 24 hours, a pair of flies can produce 500 flies.

4. Ants

There are over 10,000 species of ants. An ant can lift 20 times its own body weight. If all the ants in the world weighed as much as all human beings, ants would weigh more. Some queen ants can live for 30 years.

5. Fleas

Fleas can jump 150 times their own height, the equivalent of a human jumping over a 60 story building! They can accelerate 50 times faster than a space shuttle. There are over 2000 species of fleas.

6. Moths

A Luna moth doesn’t have a mouth, so its only goal is to reproduce before it dies of starvation in about a week. Some moths never eat anything as adults because they don’t have functioning mouths.

7. Mosquitoes

Only female mosquitoes bite and feed on blood. They need the protein in blood to produce eggs. There are over 3000 species of mosquitoes. Most of them are estimated to transmit disease to more than 700 million people annually world-wide.

8. Termites

The oldest termite colony discovered is over 3 million years old! Termite mounds can be massive – some are over 30 feet tall. Termites eat wood equivalent in weight to 2500 humans each day in Australia.

9. Silverfish

Silverfish get their name from their silvery appearance and fish-like movement. They can run up to 1 centimeter per second, squeezing through tiny cracks. Silverfish have lived on Earth unchanged for over 400 million years.

10. Bed bugs

Bed bugs can survive a year without feeding. They inject an anesthetic so human hosts don’t feel their bites. Each female bed bug can lay up to 500 eggs in her lifetime. Bed bugs have been living with humans since ancient times.

There are some crazy cool things about common household pests that most people have no idea about! Next time one shows up, maybe take a closer look before grabbing the bug spray. These creatures are simply trying to survive just as we humans do day to day. A little understanding can go a long way!

This blog post was written by Brent McPherson from Trust Pest Control Sydney.