What’s Bugging you – Bug Identification
Often in during a home inspection I will find some odd bug that I do not quite know what it is. In most cases it does not bother me because as a structural pest inspector as well as a home inspector what I am most concerned about is insects that can cause damage to the home from a structural stand point such as termites, carpenter ants or anobiid beetles.
Since I am a structural pest inspector I also get people asking me what bug they have or are worried that it is something really bad. Now when it comes insects there are over 900 thousand different kinds, and that is what we know of. (Number of insects – Smithsonian ) In the United States alone there are around 91,000 identified insects and surprisingly there is around 71,000 unidentified but in the United States alone.
Per the Smithsonian there is about 10 Quintillion, (a thousand raised to the power of six (1018)) or a million million millions, insects alive at any alive at any time. Now that is a lot of bugs.
With that said, I actually know very little on many of the insects that inhabit this planet. Sometimes when asked, the answer may be “I do not know”. I do like a challenge and often find myself trying to figure it out.
Like many things you have to be careful on the information available on the internet. Learning what sources to trust becomes critical. Luckily here in Washington State we have one of the great resources when it comes to Entomology and Agriculture locally which is Washington State University (Washington State University- Bug Information ).
One of my favorites bug question is; “I have a Brown Recluse in my house”.
This is highly unlikely here in Washington State ( The Legend of the Brown Recluse). There is no known reproduction population here. Now there are been some cases of them but they have been associated with people or items moved here from areas with known population. But as for a viable population here, as far as I know, there is none. Here is a nice article from Washington State University entomology professor Richard Zack – Dreaded spider doesn’t live here. People can be funny and even when presented with authoritative information I have found some just do not want to accept this fact and have tried to argue they have a reputable source that can verify it. Except they can never really produce that “Source”.
Washington State Department of Health – Spiders
There are only three spiders that we do have here in Washington State that are medically important. The Black Window and two species of the Yellow Sac Spider. It turns out the Hobo Spider has been removed from poisonous spider category. Remember all spiders do have venom but only certain ones are considered poisonous. Some people can have an allergic reaction to venom.
Black Widow Spider
Often most insects can be just pests when in our indoor environment and most will want them gone. Proper identification will be necessary to address why they are in your home or yard. From there steps can be taken for control as necessary.
Just remember insects are a crucial piece of biological diversity and biological foundation of the worlds ecosystems. You may not like them all of them but they do server a purpose as recyclers, pollinators, seed speeders, soils health and fertility, control of other organisms, and maybe the most import fact is they provide a nutritional and food source for much of the other species, flora and fauna. So do exclusion and control with minimal overall impact.
To help you discover what is bugging you here is a nice insect search and identification tool:
https://www.insectidentification.org/bugfinder-start.asp
If you have any questions on bugs, a structural pest inspection or home inspection please feel free to call or contact me.
If you find any errors or have additional information that would expand on any code, building standards or manufacturer requirements please let me know.
NCW Home Inspections, LLC is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Oroville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…
Your Wenatchee and Chelan Professional Real Estate, Home and Structural Pest Inspection Service
Coordinator & Instructor- Fundamentals of Home Inspection- Bellingham Technical College
Former WA Home Inspector Advisory Licensing Board
www.ncwhomeinspections.com 509-670-9572
You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and on my website Blog.
If you find any errors or have additional information that would expand on any code, building standards or manufacturer requirements please let me know.
NCW Home Inspections, LLC is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Oroville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…
Your Wenatchee and Chelan Professional Real Estate, Home and Structural Pest Inspection Service
Coordinator & Instructor- Fundamentals of Home Inspection- Bellingham Technical College
Former WA Home Inspector Advisory Licensing Board
www.ncwhomeinspections.com 509-670-9572
You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and on my website Blog.
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