Survey respondents say Sunshine State is nation’s ‘buggiest’
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — In a national survey, homeowners ranked Florida as the state with the worst bug infestation problems — including ants, termites and cockroaches. Louisiana and Texas were runners-up.
Bugs clearly are widespread across America: A whopping 90 percent of homeowners said they have experienced an insect infestation, according to the recent telephone survey, conducted by Infogroup | ORC, sponsored by BASF Pest Control Solutions.
When it comes to bed bugs, respondents agreed New York has the worst problem. California and Florida were first and second runners-up for bed bugs, respectively.
Ant infestation was rated the most common insect annoyance by homeowners interviewed. Nearly 60 percent of those questioned said ants were “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to infest their homes. In contrast, about a quarter (27 percent) of respondents said they were “likely” to suffer from a termite infestation.
Sales of insecticides also validate homeowners’ beliefs about the “overall buggiest states.” Researchers compared the survey results with sales of Termidor termiticide/insecticide along with sales of over-the-counter products containing permethrin, a major ingredient in many insecticides sold at home-improvement and hardware stores.
Here are the top 10 overall buggiest states, as ranked by homeowners and confirmed by product sales data
- Florida
- Louisiana
- Texas
- California
- Georgia
- New York
- Mississippi
- Alabama
- Missouri
- South Carolina
The survey also provided insight on the debate over “doing it yourself” versus calling a professional. Among the 90 percent of homeowners who have had a bug infestation, 63 percent of them tried to treat it themselves and only 23 percent called a professional right away. Forty-percent of those who tried to treat it themselves had to call in a professional anyway and 86 percent of those who called a professional reported success.
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