Hoffman’s Exterminating divulges bugs’ unromantic mating rituals
With Valentine’s day coming up bugs are the farthest thing from the minds’ of America’s sweethearts—but, to be fair—Hoffman’s Exterminating explains even the creepiest of crawlers shower their partners with love, too. It’s their display of affections, however, that are quite disturbing for the average hopeless romantic, breeding tragic endings that give Romeo and Juliet’s heartbreaking finale a run for its money.
Take the dating world of Peacock Spiders, for example, which involves an intricate dance that captivated people on the web across the nation in 2015. The female eats the male in pursuit of her if she is displeased with his mating dance—talk about rejection.
“Although wooing and mating with companions involves very unique procedures for bugs that humans would deem quite ruthless, these bizarre rituals work.” said William T. Hoffman, President & CEO for Hoffman’s Exterminating. “And, no one wants these pests mating in their home. They can be a concern to human health, and if successful, could lead to an active infestation that can cause damage to the home.”
Below are additional cringe-worthy mating habits from the National Pest Management Association that some common household pests practice:
• Bed Bugs perform a “traumatic insemination” whereby the male pierces the abdomen of the female to directly inseminate her body cavity. Male bed bugs often attempt to mate with other males, killing them in the process.
• Kissing Bugs have a tendency to bite the faces and lips of humans while they sleep, not only causing welts and allergic reactions, but also possibly spreading the potentially fatal Chagas disease. This bite serves as a blood meal that’s necessary for male kissing bugs to mate and for female kissing bugs to lay eggs.
• Fire Ants hail the queen, which doesn’t turn out well for the males. The queen ant is in charge of laying eggs and can even control how many male and female eggs she lays. She can live for up to seven years and produce more than 1,000 eggs each day. The male ants’ sole purpose in the colony is to mate with the queen and then die soon after doing so.
For more information on common household pests, please visit the Hoffman’s Website.
