Below are some common myths associated with insects.
Click on each myth to find out what's really going on!
Nope! Ticks live on the ground in leaf litter and grass. They will wait and grab on to their host (usually humans and animals) as they pass by.
Bed bugs are attracted to humans, therefore they can be found in the cleanest of houses. Bed bugs need a blood meal to complete their life cycle and live close to their host, in this case humans, to be able to do so.
Head lice actually prefer clean hair to lay their eggs so this is completely false.
Most people don’t sleep with their mouth open and even if they did, what are the odds a spider is near them and wants to be in their mouth? Almost 0%.
Daddy longlegs are part of the arachnid group but they belong to the order Opiliones and not Araneae. In fact, they are more closely related to scorpions.
This insect, often referred to as “mosquito hawks” and “skeeter eaters”, is actually a crane fly and unfortunately do not eat mosquitoes. Some good news though, they are thankfully not giant mosquitoes and are harmless to humans!
Sources
- Jesse, L. (2012, April 4). Ticks are Plentiful this Spring. Horticulture and Home Pest News. Retrieved November 25, 2022, from https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/2012/4-5/ticks.html
- Environmental Protection Agency. (2022, September 1). Bed Bug Myths. EPA. Retrieved November 25, 2022, from https://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/bed-bug-myths
- NHS. (2021, March 31). Head Lice and Nits. NHS. Retrieved November 25, 2022, from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/head-lice-and-nits/
- UW College of Arts & Sciences. (n.d.). Myth: You swallow spiders in your sleep. Burke Museum. Retrieved November 25, 2022, from https://www.burkemuseum.org/collections-and-research/biology/arachnology-and-entomology/spider-myths/myth-you-swallow-spiders
- UW College of Arts & Sciences. (n.d.). Myth: A “daddy-longlegs” is a kind of spider. Burke Museum. Retrieved November 25, 2022, from https://www.burkemuseum.org/collections-and-research/biology/arachnology-and-entomology/spider-myths/myth-daddy-longlegs-kind-spider
- Mertz, L. (2015, August 17). Mosquito Hawk? Skeeter Eater? Giant Mosquito? no, no, and no. Entomology Today. Retrieved November 25, 2022, from https://entomologytoday.org/2015/08/17/mosquito-hawk-skeeter-eater-giant-mosquito-no-no-and-no/