8 Common House Bugs In Georgia You Need To Watch Out For

Everyone loves to visit Atlanta, but when it comes to home ownership, many people might be surprised at what a Georgia house can come with. This is doubly true when you’re talking about the potential of pest infestations that you may have to handle.

Georgia is a perfect storm of warm weather, high humidity, and tall grasses. In other words, it’s the type of world that most insects thrive in. If you’re new to the South, you owe it to yourself to learn about what kind of bugs you can find in Georgia before move-in day.

What are the common house pests you’ll find in Georgia?

Aside from mice and rats, you have a full zoo of different creepy insects to worry about here. Our guide will show you what they are and how you can (hopefully) prevent them. 

1. Cockroaches

In nature, cockroaches are famous for flocking to fallen fruits and decaying matter. If they can find it, they will eat it. In modern times, cockroaches have become almost exclusively found where people are. They love the greasy, carb-filled foods people leave out.

Cockroaches are extremely common in Georgia, even among well-kept homes. Since they are so common, you need to consider doing some kind of preventative measure to avoid them. 

There are several species of cockroaches in Georgia. You might deal with American cockroaches, Florida cockroaches, (AKA “Palmetto Bugs”), German cockroaches, or Oriental cockroaches.

If you see one roach, you already need to call professionals. Roaches are famous for hiding in cracks and being super sneaky. The only way to prevent roaches is to avoid keeping food out in the open, cover up any drains they could walk in from, and take out the trash daily.

PRO TIP – Roaches are a hazard to human health and can cause serious illness. If you rent and see a roach, contact your landlord immediately and demand professional extermination. 

2. Wasps

Wasps are not like bees. They don’t produce honey and tend to be nuisance pests that will sting you in a heartbeat just for existing too close to them. Unfortunately, they like to build papery nests in the crevices of homes. This quickly turns ugly when they take hold. 

If you have wasps nearby, that means that they have a hive near your home. Sometimes, it’s actually on or under your home. (Most commonly, they’re near the porch, the attic, or underneath a roof awning.)  A professional pest control agent can help you. 

Preventing wasps is fairly easy to do. You need to seal up cracks and crevices where they could start building a nest. If you see a nest near your home, ask animal control to remove it.

PRO TIP– Hornets are another common issue in Georgia. Both will cause severe allergic reactions with their stings and can be lethal. If you have either, we suggest getting in contact with pest control.

3. Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are one of the true banes of modern living. After years of being almost invisible in the public psyche, they are back with a vengeance. Bed bugs are found in every state, every country, and every city in the world—or darn close to it. 

There are three main problems with bed bugs:

1. They feed off people. They evolved to eat human blood as their primary source of food. This means that they will go wherever people go. They even evolved to follow human body temperature!
2. They are famously good hiders. Chances are high that you already have a major infestation if you see a single bed bug or notice bites after your nap. They typically hide in crevices and mattresses.
3. Once they are in, they are nearly impossible to remove from a home. A pest control service is not a “maybe” here. It’s a must, and you are probably going to need more than one visit. 

Bed bug prevention is fairly simple: do not go in places where they are known to happen, and check any items you bring into your home. Bed bugs love to hitchhike on luggage. 

PRO TIP – If you are going for a journey, check hotel mattresses before you lay down.

4. Spiders

Both venomous and non-venomous spiders are a part of Georgia’s environment. With venomous spiders, your biggest worries are going to be black widows and brown recluses. However, there are others that can bite. 

One species that looks venomous but isn’t is the new Joro spider. These large, bright yellow spiders weave “nets” that they use to glide in the wind. While they look terrifying and can be alarming when they coat entire parts of your house in webs, they don’t bite. 

You actually might be able to curb pest problems by allowing Joros to stay in your yard. With that said, pesticide also works because this species is not native to the state. 

5. Ants

Ants are particularly common during the spring, summer, and fall months. There are several different types of ants that can bother you, including the following:

• Odorous House Ants. These are the ants that smell bad when you squish them. They are attracted to food leftovers. Using pesticides can curb these, but so can keeping food locked up.
• Fire Ants. These clear brown ants are famous for their painful bites and stings. Prevention involves keeping a clean lawn and clearing away food. 
• Carpenter Ants. These ants are famous for acting like carpenters–at least when it comes to drilling holes in wood. They detest the taste of wood sealant, so treating your wooden furniture can help keep them far away from your home.

PRO TIP – Carpenter ants leave small piles of wood dust at the bottom of the wood that they drill through. If you don’t see wood piles but do see holes, you might have to call a pest control company for the pests in the entry below this one.

6. Termites

Termites are one of the worst pests for people who have lots of wood furniture. They eat the wood pulp, causing structural damage to your furniture and house with every bite. If they are left to their own devices, you will have major structural repairs to do soon enough.

If you have termites, getting pest control is not enough. You will have to replace any wood that they have eaten through. You also will have to deal with regular checkups shortly after from the pest control company. 

The easiest way to keep termites away is to have a dry, clean lawn. If you store firewood, it’s best to keep it in a plastic shed far from your home. Like with carpenter ants, sealing any wood that you have will deter them from using that wood as their next lunch. 

7. Boxelder Bugs

This is a name that brings a twitch to many homeowners’ eyes when it’s time for summer. Box elder bugs are black and red beetle-like bugs that are terrible for local trees. They love to feed on tree sap during the summer, which can harm foliage in the long term.

When it’s autumn, box elder bugs stop hanging out on trees and start hanging out in houses. They typically will nest in attics and other crevices, occasionally chewing on wood to survive. Once spring shows up, they leave. 

Prevention is simple. You need to seal up the entry points that box elder bugs get in, and you may want to get some long-term repellents for them. If you have box elder trees near your home, spraying pesticides on them can help prevent bugs from making a visit to your home.

8. Silverfish

Like with most parts of the country, these long, silvery “swimmers” tend to be a problem in Georgia as well. Silverfish might look scary, but the good news is that they don’t produce venom and they don’t harm property. 

Still, these little guys aren’t something you want to be roommates with. 

Silverfish are pretty easy to prevent since their big “draw” is excess moisture. Keeping a dry home is a must. If you notice food supplies or books infested by silverfish, then you need to toss out the affected items.

If you have recurring infestations, there’s also a chance that silverfish could be coming in from outside. You may need to seal up cracks and crevices after you get the current infestation taken care of via a pest control group. 

In conclusion…

Georgia is a peachy state, but it can come with a lot of buggy drawbacks. This is one of those states where preventing infestations is absolutely mandatory, simply because the environment is so bug-friendly. 

Keeping your home dry (a tall order in this humid state) is a large part of the battle, but so is using the right pesticide. Keep a close eye on your home, and you’ll avoid the worst pests.

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