Are you creeped out by bugs in your bathroom and kitchen? Florida is full of creepy crawlies that make their way into various points of your house. The bathroom and kitchen are two of the most common spots to find bugs.
When you come across these critters in your bathroom, you might be wondering exactly what kind of bugs you are finding. We’ve seen all kinds of bugs in bathrooms and kitchens, but this guide will show you the most common, along with information about each.
Bugs in Your Bathroom and Kitchen: How to Keep them Out
While most people do not want insects scurrying around countertops and inside the bathtub, there are several reasons why you should keep bugs like this out of your home.
First, bugs are known to carry various diseases. Some of the bugs on this list are harmless, but they can easily make you sick if they come in contact with food or bite you.
The good news is that there are ways to keep these bugs out of your home without much effort. These prevention chips will also keep many types of different bugs away from your house, including the type you will find on this list.
Keep bugs out of bathrooms and kitchens by:
- Keeping windows and doors closed wood block off access points for bugs to enter
- Seal off any foundational cracks that bugs might be able to make their way inside
- Keep food tightly sealed inside cabinets and pantries
- Make sure your drains remain unclogged
- Clean the drains in your home at least once or twice a month
- Hair and food in the drain can attract insects, so keep these out as well
- Clean your kitchen counters daily to ensure that no crumbs and debris are left as a food source
- Make sure trash is removed and tightly sealed, taking it outside as necessary
General cleaning is usually what it takes to keep many types of bugs out of bathrooms and kitchens. However, this doesn’t make your home foolproof to insects.
Once bugs manage to get inside, it may not take very long for the population to spread.
When it comes to finding bugs in bathrooms and kitchens, these are the most common.
Weevils
Coming from the beetle family, weevils are recognizable due to their elongated snouts. There are 97,000 species of this bug, and many are found throughout the state of Florida.
How do you get weevils in your home? They can come from packaged foods, or they can come in from outside.
Once they manage to get inside, the population can explode with access to food items stored in cupboards and pantries. They tend to gravitate to grains, sugar, seeds, and other dry foods. Rebels also managed to get into flour, where the female weevil will lay her eggs. When the larvae hatches, it will feed on the flower.
This is why it’s important to always throw away food where you find weevils eating or inhabiting.
The good news is that weevils are not harmful to humans. If you manage to find one, there is no need to panic. However, ideally, you will not have these beetle-like creatures in your food in the first place.
If you find yourself facing a weevil infestation, you will want to discard the food that they are consuming. You will also want to tightly seal and correctly store all foods that are tempting to these bugs.
Meanwhile, herbs can help prevent weasels from invading a pantry. You can use deterrents such as rosemary, garlic cloves, bay leaves, and black peppercorns.
If the infestation becomes unmanageable, you may need to contact a professional pest control company for help.
Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants are found all throughout America, and Florida is no exception. You can find carpenter ants nearly anywhere in your home, including kitchens and bathrooms.
How do you know if carpenter ants are the bugs in your bathroom or kitchen? You will recognize these bugs as large black ants, although they can also be red or yellow.
Carpenter ants can get inside your home by using trees that offer access to your roof. They can also get inside from unsealed openings as well as utility pipes.
Unfortunately, carpenter ants can cause structural and cosmetic damage. They will dig tunnels and wood where colonies will form.
You may observe carpenter ant infestation when you see worker ants searching for food.
You may also discover signs of debris that they produced through tunneling. You can even hear
carpenter ant activity through the walls.
When it comes to getting rid of carpenter ants, you must find the source of the nest. Finding the nest gives the opportunity for removal and chemical treatment.
American House Spider
Have you ever walked into your bathroom to find a spider inside the tub? You might have come face to face with an American house spider, one of the most common spiders you’ll find in Florida.
These spiders are primarily reddish-brown or light brown, with varying colors from spider to spider. They are roughly the same shape as a widow spider with the female being larger than the male.
This species of spider is easily scared. They have poor vision and can only see about 3 or 4 inches in front of them. American house spiders will bite if they are scared, but they do not typically harm humans from their bite. Unless there is an allergic reaction, most people will be fine from a house spider bite.
You will find American house spiders and webs throughout different locations in your home. They can also make multiple webs, as they prefer to have at least one web near a food source.
You can find American house spider cobwebs in the upper corners of your kitchen or bathroom. They may also make webs inside closets and corners of windows.
If the humidity levels in your home are high, lowering those levels can help deter the spiders. You will also want to make sure your windows do not contain screens with holes in them.
This is also a spider that waves to gain entry through cracks in the foundation of your home. Make sure those cracks are sealed to keep American house spiders at bay.
Cockroaches
Living in Florida, cockroaches live and thrive in the humidity and hot climate. Unfortunately, it is only a matter of time until a cockroach makes its way inside your kitchen or bathroom.
There are over 70 species of cockroaches in the United States. Finding a cockroach (or many of them) scurrying across your kitchen or bathroom floor is certainly unsettling, and it is important that you take action sooner than later.
The American cockroach is one of the most common cockroaches as you’ll find in your bathroom or kitchen. It is also known as the Palmetto bug. However, the American cockroach is a very large cockroach with both males and females having wings.
These roaches are dark brown to red, about 3 inches long, and come with straight antennae and 6 legs.
Another type of common cockroach in Florida is a German cockroach. This is typically the Cockroach of concern. They go from room to room and lay along the way.
What’s worse is that the female needs to only mate one time, giving them the ability to reproduce for their entire lives, resulting in tens of thousands of offspring each year.
How do you know if you are coming across a German cockroach? Look for light brown or tan bodies. They are about 1/2 in in length and come with horizontal stripes behind their heads with six legs.
How do you know if you have a cockroach infestation? There are several typical signs. You may discover signs of droppings. You can also find marks that look like streaks on walls, which are dark and irregular and pattern.
You may also notice an unusual odor or a foul smell. It is a musty scent that attracts even more cockroaches. The stronger the smell, the worse the infestation.
How to Handle Bugs in Your Bathroom and Kitchen
The approach to handling bugs in your bathroom and kitchen depends on how many are found at the time. Just because you find a single American house spider, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there is an infestation.
First, you will need to be aware of the infestation signs for all of the common bugs in Florida. If there are obvious signs of an infestation, it is time to reach out to a pest control company in Florida.
Meanwhile, if you were not sure about the existence of an infestation, it does not hurt to reach out to a pest control company anyway. We can help determine if there is in fact a major cause for concern.
If you need help battling common bugs in bathrooms and kitchens, contact us now to get started.
