Are straw bale houses more likely to have bugs than conventional houses?
In Ontario, and in many other places, immediately after plastering there is often a bloom of tiny black bugs. They are most numerous and most notable when the roof is on since this contains the humidity from the curing plaster within the building. Close on the heels of the little black bugs are larger tiny bugs called pseudoscorpions. Pseudoscorpions eat the small black bugs. As the house dries out and is cleaned periodically during the first few weeks of occupancy both types of bugs. Straw bale houses are no more or less resistant to insects than a stick framed or stone house in the same location. Spiders will crawl in. Ants come looking for food in the summer. Flies and lady bugs seek shelter in the fall.
