When the movie Snakes on a Plane came out, it caused quite a stir. In the movie, poisonous snakes were unleashed in an attempt to eliminate a key witness on his way to a trial. In real life, while Snakes on a Plane made for an adrenaline-packed story, there are other more common, serious pests that make professional pest control on planes essential.

One big concern for airlines is rats and mice, especially because these pests like to gnaw on things. Large airplanes have over one million parts, plus miles of wires and cables. The wires are well-protected against many threats, but a persistent rodent can get into tight places and gnaw on a wire, easily causing something to fail. That’s why sighting a rat or a mouse causes the plane to be grounded.

Planes traveling through other countries can also pick up stowaway pests that pose health hazards. Mosquitoes carrying dengue and other diseases can fly into the plane, fruit flies and cockroaches can hide in food carts, luggage can be a source of pests, and people can also bring in blood-sucking bed bugs, lice, and ticks. Even scorpions have been found on planes recently.

Fortunately, poisonous snakes are rarely encountered on planes, but airlines have had to develop strict pest management procedures to deal with these other serious but more common pests.