Bugs galore on the office desk!

According to the results of a new study when it comes to the workplace, women are "germier" than men.

Scientists say they saw seven times more germs hiding out in women's desks than in men's.

The new research shows in fact that the office desk is home to far more bacteria than the toilet as the average office desktop has 400 times more bacteria than the average office toilet seat.

Apparently if you're a woman, the odds are your workspace has more germs than your male colleagues.

Researchers at the University of Arizona found that women seemed to have more 'stuff' in their offices, from makeup bags to pictures of family.

Women it seems have three to four times the number of bacteria in, on and around their desks, phones, computers, keyboards, drawers and personal items as men do.

Charles Gerba a professor of soil, water and environmental sciences, tested more than 100 offices on the UA campus and in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oregon and Washington, D.C.

Dr. Gerba says he assumed men would be far more germ ladened than women but it seems womens' interactions with small children and the fact that 75 percent of women keep food in their desks, means their desks harbour lots of microorganisms.

Although women's desks as a rule appear cleaner, knickknacks are more abundant, and cosmetics and hand lotions make ideal germ-transfer agents, while cosmetic cases, phones, purses and desk drawers make excellent homes for germs.

Gerba says he was really surprised how much food there was in a woman's desk, but the worst overall office germ offender is men's wallets which when kept in a back pocket become excellent incubators for bacteria.

Dr. Gerba's study also found the presence of mold on various office surfaces, most of which is isolated in the bottom desk drawer, a popular stash for lunch items and snacks and germs find plenty to snack on there.

Dr. Gerba recommends frequent hand-washing and using disinfecting wipes daily on hard surfaces in your cubicle or office to kill germs.

Gerba says 25 percent fewer bacteria are found on surfaces that are disinfected once a day.

The $40,000 study was commissioned by the Clorox Co.