What If Pests Participated in Holiday Traditions?

The holiday season is full of fun activities, delectable treats, and festive decor. Whether you spend the majority of your time with family, friends, a significant other, or yourself this month, there is plenty of fun to be had this season. There are plenty of holiday traditions that we all complete every year, whether they are brought from your childhood or introduced well into your adult years. But what if the pests we know too well could also participate in these festive activities? Let’s step into the fictional world where pests can enjoy the same things that we do, and see which tradition they would be most excited to complete this holiday season. 

Go Caroling – Crickets 

Caroling may not be as popular as it once was, but it is still going strong in multiple communities. It is fun to walk around the neighborhood with your friends or family, singing Christmas carols and bringing cheer to homeowners in your area. If any pest would love the thrill of singing carols over and over, it would definitely be the cricket. These noisy insects are famous for their chirps that create the soundtrack to any warm summer evening. The chirps are the result of stridulation, a process where the male cricket rubs its front wings together to produce chirps and calls to communicate with its own species. They may sound the same to us, but the crickets vary their chirps to do anything from attracting a mate to alerting other crickets of their presence. Crickets would love the tradition of being bundled up and walking around a chilly neighborhood to sing these well-known carols. They would be that one person who always sings just a little louder than the rest of the group, but at least they would know all the words. Crickets would love every song they sing, and their favorite classic would be “Jingle Bells” just because they like the idea of bells jingling and making a constant racket that is still pleasing to the ears.

Baking Cookies – Ants

Ants live to gather and consume food, which is exactly why they are always associated with infesting food that has not been properly sealed or was left out for far too long. Their olfactory receptors, located on the tiny nerve hairs on their bodies, are extremely strong and give them the ability to detect food sources from a sizable distance. They are especially attracted to sugary foods, so the worker ants will naturally gravitate more towards sweets that they can then lead the rest of their colony’s workers to through the use of pheromones. Speaking of sweets, ants would be so excited to finally bake some Christmas cookies that they would select the recipes months in advance. They would follow the recipes exactly, thanks to their organized nature, but they would add a little extra sugar or candies to make these desserts even sweeter. They would bake about 10 different types of cookies that they would then share with their friends and family, but the ant would definitely save a good amount for themselves. 10 different recipes seems like an impossible amount, but the ant could get it done in an impressively efficient manner, thanks to their solid work ethic.

Drive to Look at Christmas Lights – Fireflies

The amount of dedication and planning that goes into these elaborate Christmas light displays is impressive indeed, and the payoff of seeing those festive lights is indescribable. Some homes are adorned with a classic string of lights around the roof overhang and a light-up reindeer in the yard, while others are completely decked out in countless lights that match the beat of songs playing over a local radio station. One pest that knows the art of light displays all too well is the firefly. These illuminating insects use their bioluminescence to signal to their fellow fireflies, similar to how crickets use chirping. The fireflies will make different light patterns that can attract mates, ward off predators, and find their fellow fireflies. As with cricket chirps, the blinking lights of fireflies may appear the same to us, but they vary the lights enough for their own species to communicate every message they would need. They would love driving around the neighborhoods in their area that are known for impressive light displays. The firefly’s favorites would certainly be the homes that have light displays with music, and they might even practice mimicking the lights with their own bioluminescence. As talented as fireflies are, even they may find it difficult to match the beat of twinkling lights set to popular Christmas songs, but that wouldn’t stop them from trying it the rest of the night.

Build a Gingerbread House – Termites

Termites are a notably hard-working pest, which would be admirable if they weren’t so destructive when they invade our homes and businesses. They devour wood and craft intricate tunnels that house their massive colonies, which will continue to expand as long as the queen is alive and well. There are three different classes of termites in each colony: workers, soldiers, and swarmers. Workers chew through the wood and craft tunnels, soldiers guard the entrances against predators, and swarmers can reproduce and use their wings to fly to a new home. Because of their work ethic and designated roles, termites would enjoy the thrill of a friendly gingerbread house competition. They wouldn’t mind if it is store-bought or homemade gingerbread, as long as there are plenty of toppings and decorations for the competition. Since it would be a team competition, the termites would designate the different roles for the various tasks. The workers would delicately craft the icing swirls and designs on the house and walkway, the soldiers would create fences and trees out of peppermint sticks and gumdrops, and the swarmers would add the gingerbread family and final touches made out of small candies. Even if the termites don’t win for their decorations, they would definitely win “first place” for the completely sturdy and reliable construction of the cookie house. 

Wear Ugly Sweaters – Moths 

While many moth species are known for their attraction to lights, some moths prefer to stay within the closet to munch on our clothes. These clothes moths live off the fibers in many of our clothing pieces, especially animal fibers. Their favorite materials include fur, silk, wool, and felt. The moths will chew through the fibers in order to eat and digest the keratin within, leaving behind tiny holes for us to find in our favorite sweaters later. Many people enjoy the fun of an ugly sweater party or contest, and some will repurpose older sweaters from their collection as ugly sweaters for this very reason. If the moths weren’t busy eating the sweaters, they would love decorating them for the annual ugly sweater party. They would go all out with making the ugliest sweater designs possible. The moths would use hot glue to attach pom-poms, pipe cleaners, sequins, cotton, ribbons, googly eyes, and buttons to the front and back of the sweater in an effort to make it as creative yet revolting as possible. And, of course, the proud moth would win first prize for their unique sweater that put all of the store-bought sweaters to shame.

Visit a Christmas Tree Farm – Mantids

Praying mantids are a beneficial pest that we often forget about until we see one calmly perched on a tree, waiting for their prey to walk by. They are completely harmless to us and are very independent, which may seem strange considering their entry into the world. Mantids create a large walnut-sized egg mass that attaches to a tree branch or other solid surface, only to release about 400 baby mantids after several weeks. One of the favorite locations for this egg mass is the branch of a live Christmas tree, since conifers have such thick needles and branches that are perfect for hiding a praying mantis egg mass. If they could enjoy holiday traditions, praying mantises would look forward to picking out their Christmas tree every year. They would visit the same snowy farm, carefully considering every possible tree much to the frustration of their shivering family. But the mantis would continue with their inspection by analyzing the trees for their fullness, height, and branch stability. After carefully testing each possible contender by touching the branches, the mantis would be elated when they find the perfect tree, and immediately search for an employee to help cut and load up the tree into the mantid’s waiting truck.

Go Ice Skating – Hornets

Depending on which region you live in, ice skating may or may not be a major activity in your community. Even if your climate is too warm for an outdoor skating rink, there is oftentimes an indoor rink somewhere nearby for people to enjoy. There is quite a learning curve to any form of skating, and the idea of trying to glide around with sharp blades on a giant ice rink is understandably intimidating to many people. But the ones who are great at it look effortless, gently drifting around the rink or zooming from one spot to another with ease. One pest that is excellent at darting and flying is the hornet. Although we know them for their painful stings and vengeful attitudes, hornets are also quick fliers thanks to their 2 sets of wings. They have a set of smaller wings under their normal wings, which helps them achieve their average flight speed of 14 miles per hour. If hornets could get into a pair of ice skates, they would definitely be naturally great at it. They would make their laps around the ice, darting in between people just to show off a little. And if someone warned them to slow down, the hornet would just smile innocently and slowly glide along the railing until they feel like it’s been long enough to start zipping around the ice without complaint once again.

Watch Christmas Movies – Mice

Mice are definitely the family-oriented critters of the pest world. They reproduce quite often, averaging about 5-10 litters (with 5-12 babies in each) per year. One of the first signs of a mouse invasion is the sight of random shredded papers and insulation, as they use softer items to build their warm nests. The young mice stay in the nest with their parents until almost 3 weeks later, then venture out on their own to find their food. Since mice enjoy family time so much, they would definitely enjoy a good old-fashioned Christmas movie night. Many people enjoy watching a movie or two over the holiday season, but mice would go all out with their fun movie nights. First of all, it would be a requirement that every mouse in the house has to participate, as the parents would want all of their young mice to be a part of this festive activity. Secondly, the mice would not settle for a simple bowl of popcorn as a snack. Since mice are notably voracious eaters, they would have a full homemade snack bar. It would include popcorn, boxed candies, soft drinks, cotton candy, and some form of gingerbread since it’s the holidays. They would cozy up with every blanket in the house, excitedly sitting through classics like Polar Express, Elf, Home Alone, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Receive Reliable Pest Control – Green Pest Services

Just because it’s cold and frosty outside does not mean that pests are taking the season off from causing trouble. Many species need a warm shelter in order to survive the winter, and that makes our homes the perfect target. The abundance of baked goods and delicious meals are also major draws for all kinds of hungry pests, like ants, flies, roaches, and rodents. That is why our dedicated technicians are here to provide both preventative and responsive pest control services year-round. We know the habits and life cycles of common pests, and use that information to stay one step ahead of the pests by using traps, bait, and spray to get to the root of the issue immediately. Contact our team to learn more about our eco-friendly treatments and why our services are the best tradition you’ll have every year.

Citations

Foster, S. (n.d.). How fast can bees, yellow jackets, hornets, and wasps fly?. School of Bees. Available at https://schoolofbees.com/how-fast-can-bees-yellow-jackets-hornets-and-wasps-fly/ (Accessed on December 6, 2022).