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Where do bugs like to live in your house?

Household Bugs - Level 4

Scientists know where bugs like to live in our houses. Many insects and creepy-crawlies share our homes. They all like different kinds of accommodation. Researchers looked at factors in 50 houses to find out why bugs chose where they lived. Most bugs live in ground-level, carpeted rooms with many windows. A researcher said: "The home we create for ourselves also builds a complex, indoor habitat for bugs and other life."

Every room in a house has different environments for bugs. Fruit flies and ladybugs liked living rooms. Spiders, ants and beetles preferred darker, damper rooms. The benefits of sharing our homes with bugs include making sure the microbes we need to stay healthy are in our homes. Bugs also clean up the waste we create. A researcher hopes to understand more about how we can live with bugs and how they help our health.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Household Bugs - Level 5

Scientists have found where bugs most like to live in houses. A rich diversity of insects and creepy-crawlies share our homes. They all have different tastes regarding accommodation. Researchers from US and Danish universities studied factors in 50 houses to find out why bugs chose where they lived. The largest number of bugs live in ground-level, carpeted rooms with many windows. Lead author Dr Misha Leong said: "We are just beginning to realize and study how the home we create for ourselves also builds a complex, indoor habitat for bugs and other life."

Every room in a house offered different ecological environments for bugs. Booklice, fruit flies and ladybugs liked living rooms. Spiders, ants, centipedes and beetles preferred darker, damper places like basements. There are benefits of sharing our homes with bugs. Many bugs are essential for ensuring the microbes we need to stay healthy are present in our homes. They also play an important part in cleaning up the waste we create. Dr Leong said: "We're hoping to better understand this age-old coexistence, and how it may impact our physical and mental well-being."

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Household Bugs - Level 6

Scientists have discovered where bugs most like to live in your house. There is a rich diversity of insects and other creepy-crawlies we share our homes with and they all have particular tastes regarding accommodation. Researchers from universities in the USA and Denmark studied different physical factors in 50 houses to find out what affected where bugs lived. They discovered that the largest number of bugs generally reside in ground-level, carpeted rooms that have many windows. Lead author of the research, Dr Misha Leong, said: "We are just beginning to realize and study how the home we create for ourselves also builds a complex, indoor habitat for bugs and other life."

The researchers found that every room in a house offered differing ecological environments for bugs. They found that booklice, fruit flies and ladybugs preferred living rooms. Spiders, ants, centipedes and beetles were more likely to live in darker, damper places like basements. The researchers said there were many benefits of sharing our homes with insects and other bugs. They said many were essential for ensuring microbes we need to stay healthy are present in our homes. They also play an essential role in cleaning up microscopic waste we create. Dr Leong said: "We're hoping to better understand this age-old coexistence, and how it may impact our physical and mental well-being."

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25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson