When it comes to disgusting insect pests that often infest houses, most people think of cockroaches. Cockroaches are well known for their disgusting habit of congregating within areas rich with fecal matter, rotting food and garbage. Both Amnerican and oriental cockroach species are known for overcrowding sewer systems, and American cockroaches have been known to emerge in houses by traveling up sewer pipes and through indoor drains. Cockroach pests also spread their excrement all over houses, especially on kitchen counters, open food sources, dishes and utensils, just to name a few. The brown banded cockroach species that can be found in Louisiana has a liking for human food sources, which is why they often head straight for stored food items in pantries. After cockroaches are eradicated from a home, every indoor surface where the roaches were active should be thoroughly sanitized, as cockroaches spread numerous disease-causing organisms everywhere they go.

House flies may seem even more common in households than cockroaches, so it can be easy to forget that common house flies are thoroughly disgusting creatures. Adult house flies are attracted to food and fecal odors, and the pests have no problem locating the filthiest areas that can possibly exist. Unfortunately, and as their common name suggests, house flies have adapted well to human habitats, and they travel between indoor areas and filthy locations throughout their short lifespans. Whenever a fly lands on your food or crawls across a clean dinner plate, it is important to remember that that fly has likely mated and foraged within dumpsters, barn stables, porta potties, and they gravitate onto rotting animal carcasses as well. Another type of fly, the moth fly, enters homes frequently through drains, which is why they are often referred to as “drain flies.” These flies spend much of their time breeding within decaying organic matter, and the most common breeding sites include clogged gutters that contain rotting plant matter, drains where food and bodily waste has gathered, compost piles, in and around septic tanks, garbage cans, and outflow pipes connected to toilets and dirty sinks. Keeping indoor moisture content low, removing garbage from homes, and maintaining sanitary living conditions will keep these insects out of homes.

Have you ever seen any type of insect emerge from a drain?