iStock/Thinkstock(RALEIGH, N.C.) — While people generally think their homes keep them safe from the creepy crawlies outside, a new study reveals people have millions of unseen roommates: bugs.
According to findings published in the scientific journal PeerJ, researchers visited 50 residences within 30 miles of Raleigh, North Carolina and took samples, and their findings could make your skin crawl.
“Arthropods were found on every level of the home and in all room types,” the findings noted.
Researchers located more than 100 species of arthropod per house, including flies, beetles, ants, spiders, cockroaches — and lice, mostly of the harmless book lice variety. “Basically, we are all are living with lice,” said Dr. Michelle Trautwein, an entomologist at the California Academy of Sciences and one of the study’s authors to The New York Times.
While pests were found at many locations, not all bugs we live with are bad, the scientist noted.
“The vast majority of the arthropods we live with are not pest species,” Dr. Trautwein said. “They are not going to suck your blood, eat your food or destroy your house.”
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