MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Terminix, a leading provider of termite and pest control services and a ServiceMaster (NYSE: SERV) company, today named bed bugs as the 2018 Pest of the Year for the second consecutive year. Americans searched for information about these pests a staggering 6.7 million times during 2018. The announcement comes as part of the company’s second annual Entomologists’ Almanac, a chronicle of the year in pest trends, spanning internet searches to social media.
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.
| Pest | |||||
| 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.
| Location | |||||
| 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 | |||
Certain pests dominated the social media conversation more than others. Spiders were the most-tweeted-about pest of the year, with more than 21 million tweets about the eight-legged animal, followed by rats and mice.
| Pest |
Posts
(Jan. 1–Nov. 20, 2018) |
|||||||
| 1 | Spider | 21,500,000 | ||||||
| 2 | Rat | 12,000,000 | ||||||
| 3 | Mouse | 11,700,000 | ||||||
| 4 | Squirrel | 7,330,000 | ||||||
| 5 | Ant | 7,310,000 | ||||||
| 6 | Scorpion | 5,550,000 | ||||||
| 7 | Mosquito | 4,960,000 | ||||||
| 8 | Cockroach | 4,420,000 | ||||||
| 9 | Wasp | 3,640,000 | ||||||
| 10 | Raccoon | 2,760,000 | ||||||
With the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp, Drake’s Scorpion album and a new Spider-Man movie, pests made an impact in pop culture in 2018, making it no surprise these pests ranked high on the list for social chatter.
The full Entomologists’ Almanac can be accessed at Terminix.com. If you suspect you have a pest problem in your home, visit Terminix.com or call your local Terminix branch.
Terminix has great presence in the top five markets and due to recent acquisitions is strengthening its capabilities nationally and continues to share best practices to remain the leading provider of bed bug services.
About Terminix
Terminix is the leading provider of termite and pest control services in the United States. Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., Terminix services approximately 2.8 million residential and commercial customers in 47 states and 18 countries. Terminix provides pest control services and protection against termites, rodents and other pests. Terminix is a business unit of ServiceMaster Global Holdings, Inc. (SERV), a leading provider of essential residential and commercial services. Terminix is the Official Pest Control Partner of Minor League Baseball™. To learn more about Terminix, visit www.Terminix.com.
About ServiceMaster
ServiceMaster (NYSE: SERV) solves the homeowner’s dilemma. Every day, we visit tens of thousands of homes and businesses through our extensive service network of expert professionals. Our well-recognized brands include AmeriSpec (home inspections), Copesan (commercial national accounts pest management), Furniture Medic (furniture and cabinet repair), Merry Maids (residential cleaning), ServiceMaster Clean (janitorial and residential floor cleaning), ServiceMaster Restore (disaster restoration), Terminix (termite and pest control), Terminix Commercial (commercial termite and pest control). Like, follow or visit us at facebook.com/ServiceMaster, linkedin.com/ServiceMaster, twitter.com/ServiceMaster, or servicemaster.com. ServiceMaster is the Official Home Services Provider of Minor League Baseball™.
Terminix determined social statistics using social listening software to determine the total number of posts on Twitter that include reference to one or more of 112 pests and variations of those terms on a per capita basis.
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