Insects and Pest control services

In its second annual Entomologists’ Almanac, Terminix took a look back at the pest trends of 2018. For a second year running, bed bugs were named “Pest of the Year,” having racked up more than 6.7 million online searches nationwide.

The Pest of the Year title was derived from total internet searches over the year. While bed bugs claimed the title again, the list did see some notable shakeups. Opossums overtook scorpions for the number-two spot, and squirrels scuttled their way onto the list for the first time.
                     
1. Bed Bug
2. Opossum
3. Scorpion
4. Spider
5. Hornet
6. Mosquito
7. Silverfish
8. Squirrel
9. Centipede
10. Cockroach

“It’s no surprise bed bugs have been named Pest of the Year,” said Matthew Stevenson, president of Terminix Residential. “From identification to eradication, Americans are curious about the pest, and Terminix has continued to see increased reports of bed bugs since the 1990s.”

Also featured within the Almanac are the 18 pest-iest states of 2018, which are determined by analyzing per capita searches about pests. The District of Columbia searched for pests more than any other location, followed by North Carolina and Massachusetts. It wasn’t just the East Coast that had pests top of mind, with states from Washington to Tennessee making the list.

1. District of Columbia
2. North Carolina
3. Massachusetts
4. Ohio
5. Washington
6. New Hampshire
7. Rhode Island
8. Oregon
9. New York
10. Indiana
11. Michigan
12. Pennsylvania
13. Virginia
14. New Jersey
15. Illinois
16. Tennessee
17. Delaware
18. Kansas
 
Every state even has its own pest social trends. Based on tweets per capita, Texas chatted more about mosquitoes than any other state, while a raccoon scaling a skyscraper got Minnesotans tweeting most in the nation.
                    
Pest          State
Rat          District of Columbia
Mouse          Florida
Squirrel     Alaska
Ant          California
Scorpion     Nevada
Mosquito     Texas
Cockroach     Hawaii
Wasp          Arizona
Raccoon          Minnesota
Spider          New York

The full Entomologists’ Almanac can be found here.