Pest invasions are on the rise given the extinction of 40% of insect species in most recent years, according to BBC Science & Environment. Because of this, numbers of people around the world struggle to keep up with the bizarre number of pests appearing in their homes.
It’s not only farmers who have a bee in their bonnet about pests damaging their crops and livelihoods. Most people feel ashamed about the pest problems they encounter at home.
The very insightful research of pest experts 24/7 Pest Control helped us collate most recent data on the United Kingdom’s frenzied searches on Google for methods for how to get rid of their pesky pests.
If you have ever had pests bug you at home and make you fly into a rage, let us get started on the United Kingdom’s most detested vermin. We also compare them to averages around the globe to give you a better understanding of exactly how common pest problems are to every household, so you can feel less alone in the fight against pests.
What are Britain’s top three most troublesome pests?
It has become clear that pests do not care whether your home is squeaky clean, a bit of a disaster, or already happily inhabited by yourself and your family. They will happily become a new addition to your household in hopes of shelter and sustenance, whether carried inside on clothes, pets, and luggage, or having deviously snuck in through a cracked window or a hole of their making.
With a wide range of vermin causing distress to the country, we have used the recent Google search data analysis from early May 2021 to come up with the top three most troublesome pests. Britain is overwhelmed by the intruders, as seen in the tens of thousands searches for ‘how to get rid of’ various intruders that make themselves at home in your house.
Therefore, read on to find out which three pests cause most distress to Britons based on some skin crawling data.
Fruit Flies
Perhaps the most harmless of the bunch as they present no health threat, fruit flies enjoy sampling your ripest fruits, or spoiling unrefrigerated products like onions or potatoes.
They use the same fermenting matter for breeding, which makes them exclusively set camp in your kitchen, becoming a big nuisance.
This makes fruit flies rank first in the top of most troublesome pests in the United Kingdom, as how to get rid of fruit flies receives an average of 19,100 searches on Google every month.
Fleas
Although they are so small they will easily go unnoticed, fleas do not fail to cause Britons nuisance and even health problems when they target those of us with an allergy.
The itchy, small red bumps they leave on your lower legs can easily become a rash, which is most annoying in the summer season. They also like to catch rides on your pets and find their way into your home.
This brings fleas in the top three most troublesome pests in the United Kingdom, placing second for an average amount of Google searches for how to get rid of fleas, a striking number of 16,300 a month.
Bed Bugs
Easily mistaken for flea bites, bed bug attacks are similarly irritating and concerning to any household, you can get bed bug treatment London here. These parasites make themselves comfortable in your bed and feast on your skin while you are asleep, which is a disturbing thought to many.
Itchy blisters all over your body will be the first sign of the infestation. However, a close look at your bedsheets will have you know whether the offenders have been brought in from holiday, or with the latest vintage furniture addition. Your sheets will be covered in dark stains, some of them reddish.
Bed bugs therefore represent a great cause of trouble for Britons, whose Google search averages place the pests third in the top. Their average searches for how to get rid of bed bugs amount to as much as 16,100 searches, showing just how detested they are.
What other vermin does the British public detest?
As you will know from the top three most troublesome pests in the United Kingdom, the most detested are not necessarily the bigger intruders that make their way into your home. In fact, they are some of the smallest insects people are preoccupied with getting rid of.
However, this does not mean that Britons are free of bigger vermin. These are most concerning for the diseases they carry, as well as for wreaking havoc inside your home, while nesting insects also pose concern to the country’s households.
Read on to find out more about other vermin the British public detests, as seen in their average monthly Google searches for how to get rid of them.
Rats
A high health risk, notorious trouble makers, and shameless intruders, rats come into your household in search of shelter and food, and it is so difficult to get rid of them once they have set up camp.
For those of you who fear rats, it will be extremely distressing to encounter one on your worktops or pantry, especially knowing that they can also contaminate your food and make you ill.
Given this, rats are the fourth most detested vermin in the United Kingdom, with an average of 13,000 Google searches for how to get rid of rats every month.
Mice
Most common, but highly evasive, the smaller cousins of rats come into your home with the same intentions: finding shelter and sustenance.
Mice pose as much of a health risk as rats, and make their way to any areas where you keep food at home, given they are excellent jumpers.
Owing to their close resemblance to rats, but smaller stature, mice therefore rank fifth most detested vermin in England. Methods for how to get rid of mice are searched on Google with an average of 12,200 times a month, which is fairly close to the number of searches for how to get rid of rats.
Wasps
Fears of getting stung, especially in the case of individuals with allergies, hold back most British household members from intervening in wasps nests infestations, often calling for professional help.
Most aggressive when challenged, wasps cause a lot of distress to Britons as they do not only form a nest near your home, but intrude into it, or set their nest within your home’s walls.
Wasps are therefore the fifth most detested vermin within the country, with an average of 11,000 Britons searching how to get rid of wasps on Google.
Ants
These pests are not necessarily threatening, but present great annoyance when they circle around some dropped food and explore the rest of your home for any lost crumbs behind a counter.
Ant infestations happen mostly in corners and areas that are a bit out of sight, since you will probably not notice the fallen bits that become these pests’ next meal.
This makes ants a problem in many British households, as seen in their Google searches for how to get rid of ants, which average for around 10,300 every month.
Flies
Some of the dirtiest pests, flies are similar to rats and mice for their ability to spread parasites and make your family ill, which is most concerning to households in England.
They will fly into your home through any cracks, windows, or doors from their explorations of bins and rotten matter and will try to land on food you might then consume.
This is why flies rank as the seventh most detested pests in the United Kingdom, with monthly Google searches for how to get rid of flies at an average of 8,100.
Silverfish
Infiltrating your home just as easily as flies, silverfish seep through broken screens, cracks, and gaps to find the warmest and dampest areas of your bathrooms and kitchens.
Although creepy because of their appearance, silverfish are virtually harmless to your health. However, they can cause damage as they indulge in objects like books and clothing, and your food.
Silverfish therefore rank as the ninth most detested household pests, with 6,400 Britons carrying out monthly searches on average for how to get rid of silverfish.
Moles
Moles are arguably good for your garden’s soil, although extremely troublesome when they interfere with a freshly maintained lawn, or your newly blossomed flowers.
Their molehills will be an eyesore against an otherwise well-maintained backyard, so a mole infestation will only bring nuisance given their otherwise calm nature.
Seeing this, they only receive an average of 6,000 monthly Google searches in the United Kingdom, ranking tenth most detested vermin in the country.
What are the world’s top three most troublesome pests?
Having addressed the most detested pests of the United Kingdom, it is not shocking that the rest of the world also deals with persevering pest infestations that make life at home a bit more difficult.
It is notable that around the globe, pest issues are a bit different to those in Britain. The top three most troublesome pests in the world show that geographical location has an impact on pest challenges.
Therefore, read on to find which pests the rest of the globe most looks up how to get rid of on Google, according to the same study pest experts 24/7 Pest Control have carried out to give us average monthly searches on the web.
Flies
While flies only come fifth most troublesome in the United Kingdom for the average of 8,100 monthly Google searches, how to get rid of flies is the number one enquiry on Google on a global level, showing how predominant these pests are in the entire world.
Rats
British households consider rats a moderate threat, as seen in their average monthly Google searches reaching 13,000 digital enquiries for how to get rid of rats. In the entire world, however, rats are ranked second most troublesome as the globe attempts to rid of these intruders.
Mice
Closely following mice in both the top most troublesome pests in the United Kingdom and in the world, mice receive 12,200 Google searches monthly on average, ranking them fifth most unwanted pests in England, while they place third most troublesome in the entire world.
When do people in the United Kingdom look for how to get rid of pests the most?
According to the recent study this article is based on, the season pests submerge into your home is directly related to the average of Google searches they receive, showing a direct correlation between your pest problems and the month they occur most.
Given this, we have taken the top three most troublesome pests in the United Kingdom and enquired into when Google searches for how to get rid of them spike during the year.
The following therefore gives when Britons struggle most with fruit flies, fleas, and bed bugs, according to the country’s frantic Google searches for how to get rid of them.
Summer
The hot weather of summer facilitates overripe fruit, quickly spoiling produce, and overall an environment that fruit flies thrive in. Moreover, the summer season sees most outings with your pets, who might play with others on your daily walks.
Therefore, every August, searches for how to get rid of fruit flies and how to get rid of fleas skyrocket on Google.
Spring
Far behind fruit flies and fleas, the third most detested pest in the United Kingdom causes most trouble earlier in the year, when how to get rid of bedbugs searches rapidly increase in the country.
Britain is thus most disturbed by bedbugs in the month of April, which is notably also the first month of the national lockdown in the country in 2020.
With all of this skin crawling data in mind, we truly hope that you feel like you are not the only one dealing with pests. They are a global problem, and a popular Google search topic, as seen in the data from early May. Therefore, we trust that the tens of thousands of Google searches for how to get rid of different pests let you know that this is not something to feel ashamed of.
