Bug FAQWhich house bugs spread germs or disease?
These can carry germs or disease. 33 house and yard pests on Bug FAQ, most commonly seen first. Each line is quoted from that bug's page and its sources.
Bathroom Moth FlyClogmia albipunctataCan spread germs or diseaseThey do not bite or sting, but can carry pathogens from dirty drains to places where sterility matters.
Source: UC IPM
American CockroachPeriplaneta americanaCan spread germs or diseaseAmerican cockroaches can spread disease-causing bacteria to food and surfaces.
Source: Wikipedia, Penn State Extension
Common House FlyMusca domesticaCan spread germs or diseaseIt can spread disease to people and pets.
Blue BlowflyCalliphora vicinaCan spread germs or diseaseIt can spread disease by contaminating food with germs from garbage or animal waste.
Source: UC IPM
American Dog TickDermacentor variabilisCan spread germs or diseaseThe American dog tick can transmit disease-causing pathogens and may cause a neurotoxic paralysis, so it is dangerous to people and pets.
Asian Tiger MosquitoAedes albopictusCan spread germs or diseaseThe Asian tiger mosquito can bite people and animals and may transmit diseases.
Eastern Black-legged TickIxodes scapularisCan spread germs or diseaseIt can transmit Lyme disease to people.
Source: Wikipedia
Lone Star TickAmblyomma americanumCan spread germs or diseaseIt bites aggressively, can cause an allergy to mammalian meat and may transmit disease-causing pathogens.
Surinam CockroachPycnoscelus surinamensisCan spread germs or diseaseIt can carry eye-worm parasites that affect poultry.
Source: Wikipedia
German CockroachBlattella germanicaCan spread germs or diseaseGerman cockroaches can trigger asthma and carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria, so they pose a health risk in homes and hospitals.
Source: NC State Entomology
Oriental CockroachBlatta orientalisCan spread germs or diseaseOriental cockroaches can contaminate food and surfaces with bacteria and viruses, spreading diseases such as dysentery, E. coli, and Salmonella.
House Mosquito ComplexCulex pipiensCan spread germs or diseaseIt bites people and can transmit viruses such as West Nile.
Lesser House FlyFannia canicularisCan spread germs or diseaseThey can carry disease agents and may spread them to people or pets.
Source: Wikipedia
Yellow Fever MosquitoAedes aegyptiCan spread germs or diseaseIt can spread many diseases to people and animals.
Source: Wikipedia
Inland Floodwater MosquitoAedes vexansCan spread germs or diseaseFemale inland floodwater mosquitoes bite people and livestock and can transmit viruses such as West Nile, St. Louis encephalitis and Western equine encephalomyelitis.
Face flyMusca autumnalisCan spread germs or diseaseFace flies can spread eye parasites and pinkeye to livestock and have occasionally transmitted eyeworms to people.
Source: Wikipedia
Domestic BookliceLiposcelisCan spread germs or diseaseThey can carry the human and cat pathogen Rickettsia felis, so they may spread disease.
Source: Wikipedia
Gulf Coast TickAmblyomma maculatumCan spread germs or diseaseIt can carry the disease-causing bacterium Rickettsia parkeri, which can affect people.
Source: Wikipedia
Brown-banded CockroachSupella longipalpaCan spread germs or diseaseBrown-banded cockroaches can spread bacteria and protozoa that cause stomach illnesses, so they are a health concern in homes.
Source: Penn State Extension
Western Black-legged TickIxodes pacificusCan spread germs or diseaseThe western black-legged tick can transmit Lyme disease to people and animals.
Source: Wikipedia
Southern House MosquitoCulex quinquefasciatusCan spread germs or diseaseThe southern house mosquito can spread several diseases to humans and animals.
Source: Wikipedia
Brown Dog TickRhipicephalus sanguineusCan spread germs or diseaseBrown dog ticks can spread disease to dogs and occasionally to people.
Source: Wikipedia
Eastern Bloodsucking ConenoseTriatoma sanguisugaCan spread germs or diseaseIt rarely bites people, and the bite is usually painless. It can carry the Chagas disease parasite, but it is a poor spreader because it rarely leaves droppings on the host after feeding.
Source: entomology.ca.uky.edu, extension.msstate.edu, Wikipedia
Moth flyPsychoda alternataCan spread germs or diseaseThey do not bite but can carry pathogens that may affect people.
Source: UC IPM
Cat FleaCtenocephalides felisCan spread germs or diseaseIt can bite people and spread diseases such as plague and flea-bite dermatitis.
Source: Wikipedia, CDC, Penn State Extension
Rocky Mountain Wood TickDermacentor andersoniCan spread germs or diseaseIt bites people and pets and can pass Colorado tick fever to people. Symptoms usually start 3 to 7 days after the bite.
Human LousePediculus humanusCan spread germs or diseaseBody lice can transmit diseases in some parts of the world, but none are reported in the United States.
Source: Purdue Extension
Western Encephalitis MosquitoCulex tarsalisCan spread germs or diseaseThis mosquito can transmit serious encephalitis viruses to people and animals.
Common malaria mosquitoAnopheles quadrimaculatusCan spread germs or diseaseIt can transmit malaria to people.
Source: Wikipedia
Western Bloodsucking ConenoseTriatoma protractaCan spread germs or diseaseThey bite people and can transmit the parasite that causes Chagas disease.
Source: Wikipedia
Asian Longhorned TickHaemaphysalis longicornisCan spread germs or diseaseAsian longhorned ticks can bite people and pets and are known to carry several disease-causing microbes.
Source: Wikipedia, Penn State Extension, extension.umd.edu
Oriental Rat FleaXenopsylla cheopisCan spread germs or diseaseIt can bite humans and other animals and mechanically transmit disease-causing pathogens.
Source: Wikipedia
Grey flesh flySarcophaga bullataCan spread germs or diseaseIt can spread disease-causing bacteria to people and pets.