What States in The U.S. Have The Most Bugs?
You have probably sat on your porch, enjoying a beautiful sunny day, to have to swat away buzzing insects flying around your head. Maybe then you wondered if other states have it better than you. Your mind then might ask if the mosquitos were worse than where you are. The grass is not always greener, and some states have more bugs than you could imagine.
Bugs have the ability to take over your home, and we've crunched the numbers to figure out which states are buggiest. Discover our findings and learn where Americans are most eager for a pest-free life, and which are doomed to hide behind a cloud of bug spray for the rest of their days.
The Data
The data was a collection of how many bug-related searches a state had each month, what bug was searched for and how many times that bug was searched for. Pretty simple to follow along. There were eight bugs focused on across the 50 states, with certain keywords flagged for the data.
California Is Not the State of Mind You Want
California is the worst state when it comes to bugs, and the winner, winner, chicken dinner is bed bugs. For an average month, Cali had 47,000 searches for all things buggy, with bed bugs taking the top honors with over 17,000 searches for that insect. The next two bugs most searched for in California were termites and wasps, with each bug getting about 11,000 searches.
Things are Buggier in TexasIn a not-too-distant second for bug searches is Texas, with 42,000 hits. Again, bed bugs were the main search, with 16,000 residents needing help with ridding their houses of these insects. Termites were once again in second with 10,000 people hitting the search bar and wasps rounded out the top three, with 4,000 people wanting the flying insects out of their yards.
It's Always Something With Florida
Florida usually makes the top of the list when something is going on, so it's not a surprise to see them in third place among the worst states for bugs, with 33,000 searches about pest control. Termites are the main culprit in the Sunshine State, with 14,000 hits on how to terminate the termites. Bedbugs were the second here, with 8,000 people a month wondering how to sleep in the bed without these insects, and wasps held onto the third spot, with 3,000 residents wanting help analyzing the threat of the flying insect.
New York is More Overcrowded Than Before
While it may be hard to find an apartment, it isn't tough to find someone in the state who searched for how to get rid of bugs. Bed bugs were the top problem, with 8,000 monthly searches for solutions, wasps holding strong at 7,000 hits and termites being on 4,000 people's minds every month.
The Most Searched-For Bugs
Bed bugs, termites and wasps seem to be a recurring pattern so far, but what other bugs did residents search for?
- Bed Bugs
- Ants
- Termites
- Cockroaches
- Spiders
- Mosquitos
- Wasps
- Ticks
Once you get over the fact that bed bugs were searched for twice as many times as the next searched bug, the other top bugs aren't really surprising. Ants are everywhere, and between those giant black ones, the fire ones that burn when they bite you and cockroaches that never die, the top spots are pretty self-explanatory.
While most spiders are harmless and even considered good luck, most people freak when they see one, and no one likes mosquitos-no one-and ticks are a huge problem with the rise of Lyme Disease.
Why Bed Bugs?
Why are the top three buggiest states in such a dire state to get rid of bed bugs? California, Texas and Florida are all states with a high traffic of travelers, especially during spring and summer breaks. All of those people are bringing more than their luggage. Bed bugs are also pests that easily transport from person to person and place to place with little to no effort. You could pick them anywhere without realizing it, and that is scary.
The States Safest From Bugs
Some states have almost no searches for bugs of any kind. These are the states to move to if you just do not vibe with flying insects, bugs, or other pests. Wyoming, Vermont and Alaska are the top three states when it comes to being as bug-free as possible. If you love the winter because it sends all of the bugs back to the depths of Hades, one of these states should be where your next move is.
- Wyoming
- Vermont
- Alaska
- North Dakota
- Montana
- South Dakota
- Maine
- Rhode Island
There is not a clump of states next to each other that banded together and banished bugs, but the little pockets show parts of the country that are less prone to insects than others.
Look at the state you live in and see where it ranks in terms of overall bug health, then look for the insect that freaks you out the most and see if your state has an issue with it. If you have ever Googled how to rid your home or yard of these insects, you are clearly not alone. And if you ever think of relocating, you know California, Texas, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania should be crossed off the list.
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