--- title: Pests: mice in the kitchen, cockroaches, clothes moths, fleas and head lice — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Pests: mice in the kitchen, cockroaches, clothes moths, fleas and head lice», a lesson of the biology course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Mum opens the cupboard and finds tiny dark droppings like grains of rice and a chewed hole in --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/) / Pests: mice in the kitchen, cockroache… # Pests: mice in the kitchen, cockroaches, clothes moths, fleas and head lice Lesson 397 of the biology course of Mova's primary school: 21 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/0/) — Mum opens the cupboard and finds tiny dark droppings like grains of rice and a chewed hole in the cereal packet. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/1/) — A mouse has moved in, because a kitchen is warm, dry and full of food. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/2/) — We call animals pests when they eat our food, damage our homes or carry germs. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/3/) — They are not evil; they just found an easy place to live. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/4/) — A mouse wants crumbs, a cockroach wants dark damp corners, and a clothes moth's caterpillar wants your wool jumper. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/5/) — The same animal can be a pest in one place and a helper in another: a house spider eats flies and mosquitoes, so many people let it stay. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/6/) — The best way to beat pests is to keep them out first: food in tight boxes, crumbs wiped away, gaps sealed, pets treated by a vet. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/7/) — Traps and sprays are for grown-ups and experts, never for children to play with. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/8/) — House mice leave droppings like grains of rice and gnaw holes in packets when they move in for food and warmth; their teeth never stop growing, so they gnaw almost anything, even wires. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/9/) — People call pest experts or set traps away from children and pets, and keeping open food in tight boxes stops mice and insects from getting at it. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/10/) — Cockroaches hide in warm, damp, dark places and come out at night for crumbs; they run from light because darkness keeps them safe from predators. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/11/) — A cockroach can live for a while without its head, because it breathes through holes along its body, not through its mouth. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/12/) — Cockroaches survive more radiation than people but are not indestructible: many insects survive radiation better, and cold, heat and hunger still kill them; of thousands of kinds of cockroach, only a few live with people. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/13/) — Holes in wool jumpers are made by the caterpillars of clothes moths, not by the grown-up moths, which do not eat; the caterpillars eat wool, fur and feathers and prefer dirty clothes in dark wardrobes. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/14/) — Fleas are tiny wingless insects with six legs, the back pair long and strong for jumping, and flat bodies that slip between hairs; most of a flea problem is eggs and young in the home, not on the pet. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/15/) — A vet gives pets flea treatment, and people vacuum carpets and wash pet beds. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/16/) — Head lice are tiny wingless insects that live only on people's heads; they cannot jump or fly, only crawl from hair to hair when heads touch, and they are not a sign of dirty hair. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/17/) — A fine comb gets head lice out, and clean hair gets lice just as easily as dirty hair. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/18/) — Fruit flies smell ripe and rotting fruit from far away, lay eggs on it and eat the yeast growing on it; scientists have studied them for over a hundred years to learn how genes work. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/19/) — Ants follow smell trails left by the first ant that found food, so wiping the trail with soapy water confuses them; ants are a nuisance but not dirty like cockroaches. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/397-pests-mice-in-the-kitchen-cockroaches-clothes-moths-fleas-and-head-lice/20/) — Pests eat our food, damage homes or carry germs, but spiders in the house eat flies and mosquitoes; pest experts try to keep animals out first, with sealed gaps and clean kitchens, before using anything dangerous. - ← previous: [Cartoon animals put right: Scooby-Doo, Garfield, Sonic, Winnie the Pooh and Woody Woodpecker](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/396-cartoon-animals-put-right-scooby-doo-garfield-sonic-winnie-the-pooh-and-woody-woodpecker/) - next →: [Poo, wee and smells: rabbits that eat their droppings, dung beetles and the smelliest animals](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/398-poo-wee-and-smells-rabbits-that-eat-their-droppings-dung-beetles-and-the-smelliest-animals/) - ↑ back to [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/)