7 Common House Bugs in West Virginia You Need To Watch Out For

If you live in West Virginia, chances are you have encountered some tiny unwelcomed guests that made you uncomfortable. Right?

Well, you’re not alone.

West Virginia is home to an extremely diverse species of insects and wildlife. From cottonwood borers and bald-faced hornet wasps to rats and deer mice, this state has it all.

Sadly, some of these insects can nest in your homes, causing significant damage to you, your family, and your home.

To help prevent this, we’ve compiled a list of the most common house bugs in West Virginia to watch out for.

Armed with this knowledge, you can implement the right preventive measure and keep your home bug free.

So, join us on this exciting journey!

7 Common House Bugs In West Virginia

1. Bed Bugs

If you wake up with red, itchy spots on your neck, arm, hands, or face, most likely you have bedbugs.

Bed bugs are a common pest in most states across the US, including West Virginia. These formidable foes feed on the warm blood of humans, leaving itchy bumps. In some people, bedbug bites can cause severe allergic reactions.

In such cases, a doctor might prescribe topical steroids available as creams and ointments to alleviate the itchiness, inflammation, and scratching.

Besides the bites, bedbugs can multiply quickly, infesting every section of your home. These pesky insects can lay 1 to 5 eggs daily and breed throughout their lifetime. Therefore, it’s best to implement preventive measures at first sight.

Even worse,  bedbugs can survive for six solid months without consuming any food. This makes their eradication hectic since they can live in vacant or abandoned buildings.

On top of that, they are tiny and elusive. They prefer living in warm areas including, cracks, crevices, frames, mattresses, bed sheets, and pillows.

Luckily, you can easily detect them through the dark feces or red stains they leave behind. Also, they produce a distinctive unpleasant smell.

2. Cockroaches

Another resilient common house pest you might encounter in West Virginia is the cockroach. So, why are cockroaches considered resilient?

First, they can survive without breathing for about 40 minutes and live for seven days without their heads.

And that is not all; the West Virginia cockroaches can endure without food or water for 12 weeks and withstand extreme cold and heat.

The most common cockroach varieties in West Virginia include:

• The Oriental Cockroach (Blatta Orientalis)
• The German Cockroach (Blattella germanica)
• The American Cockroach (Periplaneta americana)

 These winged pests like hiding in cracks, crevices, and any opening they spot. They can also bolt away super fast when they detect your presence.

Cockroaches like feeding on sugar, sugary food particles, and plant or animal food containing proteins. So, eliminating these food sources could help keep them at bay.

But perhaps the main reason you should eradicate cockroaches from your home is their ability to carry and spread diseases like dysentery, cholera, typhoid, and gastroenteritis.

3. Boxelder Bugs

On a warm and sunny day, all you want to do is sit under a beautiful shade (probably a tree) and relax your mind while enjoying the cool breeze.

But how would you feel after visiting your usually magnificent site only to find a cluster of thousands of boxelder bugs in your favorite spot?

Boxelder bugs are irritating as they not only invade your favorite relaxing spot outdoors. They also destroy your maple trees. These insects often such the sap out of the leaves, young twigs, and seeds of the tree.

And the worse part, boxelder bugs venture indoors during winter to seek shelter and warmth. When this happens, they can become a nuisance because they congregate in corners, near windows and doors in large numbers. If that’s not enough, they emit a foul smell like brown marmorated stink bugs when crushed or killed. Boxelder excrement can also stain your draperies and furnishings.

4. Beetles

Beetles might seem small and harmless, but they can be a serious threat to gardens and homes. Common beetles in West Virginia, like the Japanese beetles, can damage the leaves, blossoms, and fruits of a variety of garden plants, including:

• Apricot
• Cherries
• Peach
• Plum
• Corn
• Grapes

Other species of beetles, like powderpost beetles, can infiltrate your home by laying eggs on the surface of the wood. When these eggs hatch, the larvae bore into the wood and nest there for 1- 5 years, then emerge as an adult.

By borrowing into your frames, these beetles can pose a threat to the structural integrity of your house. So, it is better to prevent them by treating your wood with chemical treatments or eco-friendly alternatives like borax.

5. Bees

No one loves bees unless you’re a honey farmer. Like wasps, bees have a stinger, which they use to protect themselves.

Although the stinger is not retractable, it can cause excruciating pain. If that’s not scary, some individuals experience serious reactions from bee stings, like constant itching, difficulty breathing, and swelling of the throat and tongue.

Sure, bees are an essential part of the ecosystem, but they can be a nuisance when they nest near your home or inside your walls.

Let’s clarify this further: If a bee colony living inside your home dies due to hot weather, the honey and wax might melt, staining your walls. Also, the sweet smell of honey might draw in small rodents.

Additionally, the growing bee colony can affect your home’s structural integrity over time. And if your home gets infested with aggressive honey bees, prepare yourself for some stinging.

Below is a list of the most common type of bees in West Virginia:

• Bumble Bees
• Honey Bees
• Carpenter Bees

6. Fleas

Fleas are tiny masters of survival. They use their hind legs to jump up to 150 times their body length to reach their target, pierce their skin and suck blood.

These insects mostly attack cats, dogs, and other pets in your homestead. But sometimes, they can bite your exposed skin and suck your blood, leaving you with an itching spot.

Fleas can be introduced into your home by your furry friend or wildlife like rats, raccoons, and mice.

You want to keep fleas out of your house because they multiply quickly. If you don’t take the right measures, you can be looking at an infestation within a month.

And the scary part; these house bugs can transmit nasty diseases, though not common, such as flea-borne typhus and bubonic plague.

When inside, fleas prefer hiding in carpets, furniture, pet beds, loose wallpapers, and humid and dark areas

7. Hornets

Last but not least, we have hornets. These predators help to keep insect populations in check. This might sound cool until you realize they have a retractable stinger.

Unlike bees, hornets can sting you multiple times when threatened or defending their colony. What’s more, they produce pheromones that attract other hornets to join in the stinging.

So, if you want to keep yourself and your family safe, get rid of their nest quickly before they become a major headache.

How To Prevent Infestation of Common House Pests?

As mentioned above, the best way to keep common bugs out of your home is to implement effective preventive strategies. Here are a few strategies that apply to the most prevalent pests:

1. Maintain A Clean Environment

House bugs flourish in dark, dirty, and cluttered areas. Ensure you vacuum-clean your carpet, upholstery, and rugs to remove food particles, dirt, and debris. Also, clean your floors and countertops regularly to create an inhospitable environment for bugs.

And don’t only focus on the inside. Remove insect attractants around your property like full garbage bins and stagnant water.

2. Seal all Bugs Entry Points

Ensure you repair damaged window and door screens. Also, seal gaps or cracks in walls and foundations using caulk. It also helps to weather strip around your door to keep pesky invaders outsides.

3. Store your food properly

Ensure you store your food in airtight containers to prevent it from attracting bugs like cockroaches, flour beetles, and weevils. Remember, these creatures can cause significant damage to your stored food, including contaminating them.

4. Proper Garbage Disposal

Unemptied garbage cans will attract several insects, like fruit flies, wasps, and bees. To keep these uninvited guests away, empty, clean, and seal your garbage bins regularly.

5. Keep Moist Areas Dry.

Most house bugs, like silverfish, springtails, and centipedes, prefer living in damp areas. So, fix any leaking faucets, pipes, and drains in and around your house. You also want to install an air conditioner or humidifier in your basement and even the attic.

6. Cut and Trim Vegetations Around Your Home

Shrubs, trees, and long grasses provide excellent breeding spots for bugs. So, ensure you trim long tree branches extending near your home. Also, mow your lawn frequently, clear out shrubs, and remove any debris and dead leaves from your yard.

7. Check Plants and Firewood Before Bringing Them Indoors.

Pests such as ants, spiders, and termites can attach to firewood and plants as you take them into the house. So, before moving them inside, check for any pesky pest holding on.

8. Regular Screening and Inspection

You should conduct periodic checks on chimneys, vents, basements, attics, and crawl spaces where bugs hide. If you observe any potential entryways, seal them immediately.

9. Use Natural House Bug Repellants or Pesticides.

Natural repellants like essential oils can help you deter house bugs. Alternatively, you can purchase pesticides to help keep the bugs off.

10. Seek Expert Helps

If the house bug’s menace persists, you can seek the services of a professional management company. But ensure the company is certified, insured, and uses skilled exterminators.

Final Word

As we wrap up, it’s clear West Virginia homes are susceptible to infestation by destructive pests. The most common ones include bed bugs, beetles, wasps, fleas, and cockroaches.

You don’t want to cohabitate with these invaders because they can cause lots of damage to your home and even make your family sick.

So, if you notice these pests in your home, take the necessary measures to keep them away.

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