Which Holiday Gifts Would These 8 Pests Love To Receive?

Summary: The hunt for holiday gifts is still going strong, even after the ending of Black Friday weekend. This blog explores a fictional world where pests can receive their own holiday gifts. Each section explains why the pest would love that gift, based on its personality and habits. The featured pests are: fireflies, ants, honeybees, fleas, spiders, mice, bed bugs, and mosquitoes. Green Pest Services provides targeted treatments that eliminate pests at the root of the invasion.

The holiday season is a time for giving gifts, decking the halls, and eating way too many cookies. Half the fun of gift-giving is thinking about which items your friends and family might like to receive. This can also be quite the daunting task, especially if the person you’re exchanging with is an amazing gift-giver.

As the number of shopping days slowly dwindles down, our search for holiday gifts speeds up. It also leads us to wonder: what if pests could exchange holiday gifts of their own? Pests have such distinct personalities that it seems like it would be tough to shop for them. But we’re confident that we know what pests would like — based on their interesting habits — so let’s discuss our gift picks for these 8 troublesome pests.

Candle-Warming Lamp — Fireflies

Fireflies have one of the most unique (and useful!) abilities, especially on summer nights when the only other lights are the moon and stars. The bug’s light is used for a variety of purposes, like attracting mates, communicating with other fireflies, and scaring predators. The blinking rate of their bioluminescence changes with each message they deliver. For instance, a rapid flashing is for attracting mates, but a slower blinking is better for warning predators to stay away.

Since fireflies are obviously fans of cozy lighting, we think they would love to receive a candle-warming lamp! The lamp safely melts the candle that’s placed underneath the lightbulb, and both the temperature and light are adjustable for a customized experience. A firefly would be so excited to use their new lamp that they would immediately set it up to start melting their favorite candle in the living room, where everyone can enjoy the warm aesthetic.

Portable Charger — Ants

Ants are the busy bees (sort of) in the pest kingdom. They are always on the hunt for reliable food sources that will give their ever-growing colonies the energy they need to continue working. Worker ants lead their fellow scavengers to safe foods by leaving a trail of pheromones (scent chemicals) from the food to the nest. The ants that spend the most time in the nest are still busy, as they tend to the needs of the queen and young ants.

Since ants are always on the go, one of the most ideal holiday gifts would be a portable phone charger. Assuming they have cell phones in this fictional world, ants would never remember to charge their device before leaving for work. They would greatly appreciate a charger that’s small enough to fit in their pockets (do ants have pockets?) and has many hours of charging power. In fact, the ant would charge the portable charger right after opening it to make sure it’s ready for tomorrow.

Flower Garden Kit — Honeybees

Honeybees aren’t treated by pest control companies because these buzzy creatures are essential to our environment and the local ecosystem. Since they’re eusocial, honeybees live in hives with the rest of their hardworking colony. They overwinter together by huddling to retain body heat and eating a bit of honey when they need sustenance. Once the flowers bloom and the sun warms the garden in spring, honeybees start the process of gathering nectar and pollen all over again.

A honeybee would be over the moon to receive a flower garden kit. Whether the kit contains seed packets or a variety of young plants, the honeybee would be excited to start their own flower garden in the spring. It would be a pollinator-focused kit in order to fit the honeybee’s taste. The insect would be thrilled to see that the eventual flowers will be green, blue, and purple because these colors stand out to real honeybees!

Countertop Ice Maker — Fleas

If there’s one pest that we would define as a “party animal,” it would be the flea. This external parasite is never alone because the female flea starts laying eggs after just one meal. The eggs fall off the host to develop in a sheltered location, then the hatched larvae hop onto their new host to start feeding. Fleas can lay 40 to 50 eggs a day, so a flea invasion is one of the fastest-growing infestations you can have.

There can be only one gift for a pest that spends all of its time with others: a countertop ice maker! This is ideal for the social pest that makes sure its guests always have a cold drink (probably a Bloody Mary). The flea would fill the ice maker right after unwrapping it, then impatiently wait for the ice nuggets to form. Since these ice makers are quiet, the flea won’t have to worry about extra noise while it’s trying to talk with all of its guests and refill their drinks.

Giant Knitted Blanket — Spiders

Spiders might be the unofficial Halloween mascot, but they are even more common in the winter. This is because they want a warm shelter with access to food (aka insects), so our cozy homes are their targets. They also like hiding in sheds, offices, and doghouses. Spiders prefer to be left alone and will only bite when disturbed. Despite their beneficial diets, spiders aren’t a welcome guest in our homes for the holidays.

With their preference for cozy spaces in mind, we think spiders would be thrilled with a knitted blanket that’s big enough to envelop them in a warm hug. It would be some earth-toned color that fits the spider’s calming home aesthetic. The spider would prefer to spend winter inside with their relaxing hobbies — knitting, crocheting, etc. — than brave the snow outside, so the blanket would be the perfect gift for this homebody.

Bread Oven — Mice

Speaking of common winter pests, mice are at their most frustrating once the outside temperature drops. They will squeeze through entry points the diameter of a dime in order to access a warm shelter for the colder months. Once they find an isolated area with access to food, mice start reproducing and building its nest with household materials. Since they like to be as sheltered as possible, mice often hide behind walls and inside insulation by chewing through the house.

A pest that stays indoors and eats all the time would want holiday gifts that make the winter months more enjoyable. That’s why we’re positive that a mouse would be thrilled to receive a bread oven this holiday season. The high-quality cast iron vessel evenly distributes heat to create the ideal loaf, which is exactly what the mouse needs for its carb-heavy diet. It would use the bread oven every chance it gets, so the pest’s loved ones would start receiving a freshly-baked loaf every time they see the mouse.

Wireless Noise-Cancelling Headphones — Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are kind of like Voldemort from the Harry Potter series: many people don’t dare to say their name for fear that the pest will turn up where we least expect them. Bed bugs are tough to find before they eat because they flatten their bodies to fit within tight spaces. They can also hitchhike on clothes and bags to get to a new location. Professional pest control services are needed to treat these nocturnal pests since they’re immune to standard pesticides.

Bed bugs reproduce quickly, but they’re pretty introverted. Thus, we think they would be extremely grateful to receive a pair of noise-cancelling headphones. The headphones would be in the bed bug’s favorite color (probably red) and come with a nice case for all of the traveling that the pest does. The bed bug would be overjoyed to have an excuse to not interact with anyone, so it would start charging the new headphones right after it opens the box.

Luxury Sunglasses — Mosquitoes

Now that it’s chilly outside, we don’t have to worry about mosquitoes until next year. One of the worst summer pests, female mosquitoes feed on our blood when they need protein for their eggs. They find their hosts by detecting our carbon dioxide output, sweat, and body heat. If a mosquito feeds on an infected mammal, the pest can spread those pathogens to their future hosts. Malaria and Zika virus are two of the most common viruses spread by these bloodthirsty pests.

Since mosquitoes spend the warmest days of the year outdoors, they might appreciate some protection from the sun’s brutal rays. They would be happily surprised to be gifted a pair of luxury sunglasses that the mosquito is too cheap to buy for itself. The sunglasses would have UVA and UVB protection to keep the mosquito’s compound eyes safe. The mosquito would start using the sunglasses on those winter days when the snow is even brighter in the sunlight.

Efficient Pest Solutions — Green Pest Services

Giving and receiving holiday gifts are treasured traditions, but you don’t need to wait for this time of year to receive reliable pest control services! At Green Pest Services, our licensed technicians create a customized treatment plan for every home and business. Each pest has different habits and abilities, so we target each infestation with the treatments that will eliminate them as efficiently as possible. Pest control does not have to be a headache. We truly care about our customers, and we look forward to keeping you pest-free all year long. Contact us for a free quote on our reliable services today!

Citations

Harney, C. (2024, July 19). The importance of flea and tick prevention for pests. Pointe Pest Control. Available at https://pointepestcontrol.com/importance-of-flea-and-tick-prevention-pets/ (Accessed on November 15, 2024).