Pests have developed incredible skills that allow them to lead their lives within human contexts. These pint-sized players are built of the muscle, speed, and stamina that would outperform many gold-medal-bound Olympians. Although we are impressed by their natural skills, these same skills make them our fierce opponents in our homes and businesses.
For instance, cockroaches live without a head for weeks, ants can pull 50 times their body weight, and fleas can jump distances equal to a human leaping over a 30-story building!
Instead of trying to compete with these natural athletes on their home turf, savvy homeowners get professional help to keep their homes pest-free. Read more on pest control methods and a light-hearted fictional read below!
Which Species Would Win Which Event In the Olympics?
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Marathon Running: The Persistent Ant
With their incredible endurance and navigation skills, ants would take over long-distance challenges. Foraging worker ants can travel up to 700 times their body length each day and bring food back to their colonies. They are natural marathoners due to their capacity to keep a consistent speed for long durations and their efficient energy consumption. These little troopers also have surprising endurance, working up to hours at a time through rest breaks.
- Weightlifting: The Mighty Dung Beetle
In fact, dung beetles would win gold medals in weightlifting, hands down. They are the strongest animals on Earth for their size, as they can pull objects more than 1000 times their body weight. Their muscular body and the specialized structure of their legs let them traverse valuable tons across the landscape. This power helps male dung beetles vie for mates and territory, showcasing their championship writing.
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High Jump: The Spectacular Flea
The flea would take gold medals for the high jump, which is his legendary vertical jumping performance. If you thought you could leap high, you are wrong, despite the fact that these tiny jumpers can vertically launch themselves 150 times their body length, propelled by specialized spring-like mechanisms in their legs. The acceleration from its jumps is up to 140 times greater than that of gravity, which no human athlete has ever achieved. The ability to jump high makes it easier for fleas to move from one host to another and helps them avoid danger.
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Swimming: The Agile Water Bug
In the water, a water bug would own an event with a torpedo-shaped body and powerful stroke. To hunt prey, these insects move their legs in unison to give rapid forward propulsion through the water. The volume of air they can keep underwater also enables them to participate in endurance swimming competitions. Even when escaping predators, water bugs show us brilliant diving moves.
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Gymnastics: The Flexible Silverfish
With their glorious flexibility paired with fluid movement patterns, I bet silverfish would be competitive in gymnastics. These pests can slip through two-dimensional slits, with dimensions so small that there seems to be no challenge for them, and flutter around three-dimensional environments like it is the simplest thing to do. They have flexible segmented bodies that enable a great range of movement whilst also balancing perfectly and remaining in control. Silverfish are also quite good at it, of course, and they exhibit remarkable agility when they need to turn around rather quickly while roaming the place during the night.
Taking Control When Pest Olympics Become Real Problems
Although we can appreciate these incredible pest talents from afar, their Olympic-level mastery becomes a severe issue when they make their way indoors. This ability of theirs that renders them interesting also makes them devilishly hard to eliminate by way of the usual DIY methods.
Licensed pest control experts know each species’ limits and abilities. They devise all potential ways of harm and how to act, leaving their vulnerabilities unprotected. Instead of competing on an uneven playing field against these organic athletes, homeowners gain access to professional know-how and specialized services.