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Pest learning center - Blood-Sucking Bugs

Ticks, Fleas, Bed Bugs, and Mosquitoes

There are various types of insects we encounter in our day to day lives and some can be more harmful requiring certain types of treatment. For example, blood-sucking bugs are parasites that feed on human and other mammal hosts and have the potential to transmit disease. The most common types of blood-sucking bugs you should be on the lookout for are mosquitoes, ticks, fleas and bed bugs. Learn more about their origin and treatment.
Adult ticks - small insects that live by feeding on blood mammals. Tick bites transmit disease.

Ticks

General Info:   Ticks are attracted to animals like dogs, cats, rodents, and humans. They can commonly be found in tall grass and along roads and trails. Ticks transmit several dangerous diseases.

  • Length:  3/16″ – 5/8″
  • Region Found:   Throughout the United States
  • Residential Location:    Grassy areas with or without vegetation.
  • Random/Interesting Fact:  They do not survive well once indoors.
  • Identification:  They are often brown or red with white to gray markings.
Flea image on white background

Fleas

General Info:  Fleas live for an average of 100 days. The most common species is the cat flea. This flea is not just common on cats, but dogs as well.  When you get multiple bites, often on the legs, that is typically a sign of fleas.

  • Length:   1/12″ – 1/6″
  • Region Found:   Throughout the United States
  • Residential Location:  They can be transported sometimes on clothes, dogs, cats, and rodents.
  • Random/Interesting Fact:  Fleas have powerful legs to jump as high as 8″, 150 times their own height.
  • Identification:  They are dark reddish-brown and flat. Fleas can be difficult to see because they are so small.
Bed bug image on white background

Bed Bugs

General Info:  Bed Bugs are one of the most important pests in the world.  They live in furniture and mattresses, popping out of hiding to feast on human flesh for 5 minutes each night.  People with a bed bug problem often have multiple bites, particularly around the chest, neck, and upper arms. (Bed bugs like Carbon Dioxide, which we exhale, so they generally stay near our upper-bodies.)

  • ALWAYS inspect hotel rooms, second-hand furniture and clothing, and anywhere else you suspect could have bed bugs. Resolving a bed bug problem rarely costs less than $500 (often MUCH more), so do everything you can to avoid bed bugs.
  • Length:   1/4″
  • Region Found:  Thoughout the United States
  • Residential Location:  Mattresses and furniture are the number one location for bed bugs.  They can also be found around cracks and crevices along baseboards and upholstery. They can enter the home through used furniture, backpacks, suit cases, pets, clothes, and more.
  • Random/Interesting Fact: After feeding, they move to secluded places for 5-10 days to digest their food, mate, or lay eggs.
  • Identification: They are flat and have a broad oval shape when unfed. They are swollen when fed.

Mosquitoes

General Info:  Mosquitoes are most active around dusk and dawn. They hunt for food by detecting body heat and carbon dioxide.  Unfortunately, mosquitoes bites not only itch and hurt, they can bring viruses and pathogens to the bite recipient.

  • Wear insect repellant and remove any standing water you can find. Mosquitoes can breed in a puddle of water held in a toy in the yard.
  • Length: 1/4″ – 3/8″
  • Region Found: Throughout the United States
  • Residential Location: Mosquitoes can breed in any form of stagnant water ponds, marshes, flood waters, storm drains, and tree stumps.
  • Random/Interesting Fact:  Only female mosquitoes suck human blood. Males feed on plant nectar.
  • Identification:  They are narrow and oval in shape. They can be iridescent blue, brown, or green in color.
  • Insight Pest Solutions offers Mosquito Reduction treatments on a monthly basis to decrease mosquito populations for any of our customers.

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More Information:
University of Florida – Featured Creatures
Select images purchased from Alex Wild
National Pesticide Information Center – Ticks
Ask.com – Ticks
Stopthefleas.com – Fleas
Purdue University – Fleas
Pestworld.org – Bed Bugs
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Bed Bugs
Mosquito.org  – Mosquitoes
University of Arizona – Mosquitoes