Bugs that help in pest control

Photo by Rafay Ansari on Unsplash

HQ Team

October 4, 2022: Spotting a bug in the house can lead to major all-out freaking or a gentle aww. Hate them or love them; bugs and humans have learned to coexist. The most common house bugs are spiders, beetles, crickets, ants, flies, silverfish, bedbugs, cockroaches, etc.

Are these bugs harmful to human health? Some are completely harmless, but termites, flies, cockroaches and mosquitoes are carriers of diseases and cause serious harm to one’s health. 

Hence, it is recommended to use some DIY pest control regularly to keep them out of the house. 

Here we take a look at some house bugs and their benefits.

Spiders

Spiders belong to a subgroup of terrestrial arachnids whose main prey are mites, ticks and scorpions. Outside of Antarctica and in the oceans, spider habitats are found everywhere in the world.

Allowing spiders to coexist with you indoors can be a big plus. Spiders provide excellent biological [pest] control. They feed on small insects inside and outside the home. 

Centipedes

Centipedes (the name means 100 legs) are primitive arthropods like a worm. You’ll find them in damp basements, bathrooms and potted plant soil.

 They hunt small insects and other arthropods that hide in your home, including carpet beetles, cockroaches, silverfish and spiders. Centipedes are also an indication of pest pressure in your home. If you cite them more around the house, it means more pest infestation. They do not carry diseases or build nests or webs.

Ladybugs

The ladybug is a sign of good luck in many cultures.

Though most commonly coloured red, more than 5,000 species live all over the world. Ladybugs help fight against aphids and mealybugs in the garden and microscopic mites that inhabit carpets, rugs and upholstery.

However, ladybugs in large numbers can become a nuisance and emit a foul odour when disturbed.

Praying Mantis

Easy to identify, there are more than 1,500 types of praying mantises in the world. A praying mantis hunts, traps and feeds on pests like moths, mosquitoes, flies and even roaches. But it can breed indoors and multiply; hence always place them outdoors if you locate them for them to feed on mosquitoes in the garden and surrounding area.

Earthworms

Earthworms, with bristles and rings around them, maybe ugly but are great for improving the soil and vermicomposting. Their excrement enriches the soil and controls its pH. The more earthworms there are in the soil, the better its quality.