A study published Tuesday found up to 10,000 species of insects throughout 50 North Carolina homes.
That includes between 32 to 211 species per home, with variations of spiders, beetles and wasps, according to the study.
“Most surprising was that some groups of these arthropods were found in all the houses,” Matthew Bertone, the lead author of the study, said.
Still, scientists say these numbers are nothing to worry about.
“I think there probably would be some fear associated with this,” Bertone said. “We want to stress that most of these organisms are small and harmless.”
William Kern, a UF associate professor of urban entomology, believes the species found in Florida homes could differ from those in the study. He said Florida has different species of household insects, especially when the temperature is higher.
“When you are running central heating, you are going to dry out the environment and there will be more insects coming in the home,” he said.
In addition, Kern said the species variations — including booklice, silverfish and German cockroaches — would also depend on the type of living space.
“Multi-structure dwellings, like apartments or dormitories, tend to have higher pest quantities than single-family homes,” Kern said.
He said these insects only pose a possible danger to people who are allergic to the protein that arthropods carry.
“If they weren’t considered before, they shouldn’t be considered now,” Kern said.
Contact Meryl Kornfield at mkornfield@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @merylkornfield.
