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Useful Information About Different Types of Pests

Pests Around your home

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Close-up of an ant on a natural surface. Carpenter Ants – black or red ants that prefer areas associated with wet or damp wood Close-up of a black ant on a green leaf. Nuisance Ants – generally brown or black in color; typically enter home through openings; infest foods and can possibly transmit diseases crawling over waste Close-up of a red ant on a rough surface. Fire Ants – vary in size and are colored black and yellowish red; build mounds in any type of soil and enter a home through vents and HVAC systems Close-up of a bed bug on a textured surface. Bed bug – reddish-brown in color and typically the shape and size of an apple seed; can be found in a variety of places, not just beds; hide from light during the day and come out at night to feed on a host Close-up of a large bee with a yellow thorax on a tree branch. Carpenter bees – male carpenter bees have a yellow spot on their face, but a female has a black face; because males are territorial, they typically become aggressive when approached A bee collecting pollen from a yellow flower. Honeybee – colony contains three separate castes, which includes the workers, drones, and queen; do not have a stinger; only present in the early summer A vibrant yellow and black beetle on a green plant stem. Longhorn beetle – can be recognized by their long antennae, which can extend the entire length of their body; adults are typically black with yellow or orange patterns Close-up of a small brown beetle with textured wing covers. Drugstore beetle – all brown or reddish brown; have long rows of fine hairs that make up their wing covers; abundant in warmer regions or in heated structures in temperate climates Close-up of a large black ground beetle on rocky terrain. Ground beetle – very diverse and come in many colors, but in the south, they are typically dark brown or a metallic black in color; mostly unable to fly A close-up of a red flour beetle on a grain kernel. Saw-toothed Grain beetle – brown beetles that have flattened bodies, which allow them to crawl tighter spaces; adults have wings, yet cannot fly Close-up of a centipede with long antennae on a white surface. House centipede – wormlike body with long antennae and a grayish-yellow body; their body is marked with three long dark stripes; if these centipedes are seen frequently, this is a sign that their prey arthropods are in abundance A brown centipede on a rough surface. Stone centipede – elongated and flattened with adults possessing 15 pairs of legs and 18 body segments; these bites are typically compared to a wasp sting; require moist environment to survive Close-up of a brown cockroach on a wooden surface. American Cockroaches – brown in color and largest of the house-invading cockroaches; typically, 1 1/2″ long; opportunistic feeders, but prefer sweets and decaying organic matter Close-up of a brown cockroach on a wooden surface. Smoky brown Cockroaches – mahogany in color; fly from trees onto houses; attracted to homes due to trashcans maintained improperly and pet food left out on a deck or patio Close-up of a dark, shiny cockroach on a textured surface. Oriental Cockroaches – dark brown, nearly black with an oily sheen on their bodies; prefer moist, dark areas; cockroaches contaminate far more food than they eat Close-up of a brown cockroach on a beige surface. German Cockroaches – medium brown in color with two dark stripes located on their pronotum; fully developed wings but do not fly; prefer moist environment with relatively high temperature Close-up of a black cricket resting on a green leaf. Field Cricket – field crickets usually black in color; male crickets chirp by rubbing their upper wings together Close-up of two brown crickets on a dry leaf. House Cricket – is light yellowish-brown in color with three dark bands on the head; crickets are most active at night and are attracted to lights Close-up of a brown cricket on a tiled floor. Camel crickets – either light tan or dark brown; these crickets have long legs and humped backs; have no wings so are unable to chirp; because of their long legs, they can jump several feet A small brown tick on human skin with visible hair. Fleas – these insects are flattened from each side and are small, dark, and have no wings; usually found embedded in hair found on the skin of mammals; important because of the diseases they carry, such as the bubonic plague Close-up of a small fruit fly with red eyes on a surface. Common fruit fly – common where food rots and ferments, such as restaurants, supermarkets, and homes; have either bright red or dark eyes; head and thorax are tan with a black abdomen; lay eggs near fermenting food or other organic materials that are moist Close-up of a housefly on a wooden surface. House fly – female house flies are typically larger than males; they have a duller gray color along with their thorax that has four narrow black stripes; without food, they can only survive 2 or 3 days Close-up of a red and black millipede on a branch with a blurred green background. Millipede – has a variety of shapes and sizes, but all millipedes have a generic shape that consists of a head and elongated, circular trunk; millipedes differentiate from centipedes because they have only one pair of legs per segment; they eat decaying plant matter Close-up of a mosquito resting on a green leaf. Culex Mosquito – commonly known as the southern house mosquito; all brown in color, ranging in lighter and darker shades across their body; they search for their blood meals at night and are nocturnal Close-up of a mosquito feeding on human skin. Anopheles Mosquito – this mosquito has long legs and smaller wings; the female genus of this mosquito species transmits malaria Close-up of a ladybug on a green leaf. Multicolored Asian Ladybird Beetle – also known as ladybugs; typically orange or red with black spots; they have the tendency to hibernate in lighter colored structures; if an Asian ladybug is disturbed, it can leave a brown colored stain on a surface, which is a defense chemical called reflex bleeding A close-up of a small brown mouse on a white background. Mice – has a pointed snout with big ears; they are small and thin; fur ranges between gray or light brown; tail is consistently dark A brown rat with a long tail on a white background. Norway rats – also known as sewer rats or brown rats; color ranges from a lighter reddish brown to black; small ears and eyes with a more rounded snout A close-up of a black rat on a white background. Roof rat – also known as black rats; they are small and commonly dark gray; a roof rat’s tail is longer than a Norway rat’s; common with other rodents, the roof rat will leave dark, grease-like marks in areas they consistently occupy A black widow spider near its egg sac on a web. Black Widow – the adult female is usually jet black in color; the underside has the red hourglass marking that they are popularly known for; the male black widow is half the size of the female and is a lighter brown with a yellow hourglass marking Close-up of a brown spider on dry grass. Brown Recluse – body colors ranges from a yellowish brown to dark brown; they have a darker brown violin marking on their backs; as their name indicates, brown recluses are found in more seclusive areas storage rooms and attics Large brown spider on tiled floor near grout line. Wolf spider – come in different shades of brown and have good vision due to their eyes being arranged in three rows; they are ground hunters and use their eyesight to their advantage; what sets the wolf spider apart from the brown recluse is they have thicker, sturdier legs than the brown recluse who has long, thin legs A large spider sitting in the center of its web. Orb Weaver – this family of spiders varies greatly in size and appearance; the most noticeable feature of these spiders is the coordinated, circular webs they produce Close-up of termites and their larvae in soil. Eastern Subterranean termite – it is easy to mistake a carpenter ant for a termite due to the wings they both have during their reproductive stage Close-up of termites on a wooden surface. Forman Subterranean termite – it is easy to mistake a carpenter ant for a termite due to the wings they both have during their reproductive stage A close-up of a tick attached to human skin. Ticks – are small and flattened with two separate regions of their bodies that merge; ticks possess a behavior known as “questing”; this behavior consists of a tick ascending onto tall grass and brush where it holds out its front pair of legs to wait for a host to pass by; once this happens, the tick will cling onto the fur or skin to find a satisfactory spot to feed Close-up of a yellow and black wasp on a textured surface. Paper wasps – coated in yellow and black stripes; get their name from the paper-like material in which they create their nests; will sting if they feel threatened; nests are shaped like an umbrella, hanging down from areas such as gutters, with hexagon-shaped units facing down Close-up of a large black and white wasp on a neutral surface. Bald faced hornets – not considered to be true hornets, but instead considered “aerial yellowjackets”; nests are usually built three feet above the ground in shrubs and bushes; although, nests in trees sixty feet above the ground has occurred Close-up of a wasp with detailed wings and body markings on a textured surface. Eastern Cicada Killer Wasps – upper half of this wasp is rust colored, along with their wings, while the lower half is yellow and black striped; coloring is similar to yellowjackets; these wasps appear mid to late summer Close-up of a yellow and black wasp on human skin. Yellow Jackets – black and yellow striped markings; nests can be either aerial or terrestrial; no matter where the location is, each nest has an array of horizontal combs enclosed by a paper envelope Comparison of pilbug and sowbug with detailed body views. Common Pillbug and Sowbug – are not insects at all, but are instead crustaceans that have adapted to living on land; pillbugs are also known as Roly-Polies; the way these two bugs can be separated is by the fact that the sowbug cannot roll into a tight ball like the pillbug can Close-up of an earwig on wood showing its pincers and segmented body. Earwigs – coloration is brownish to black with long, narrowed bodies; their defining characteristic is the appendage at the rear abdomen Close-up of a black and orange insect on a green leaf. Boxelder bug – obtains piercing/sucking mouthparts due to feeding on seeds of boxelder, maple, and ash trees; adult is bright red or orange with a black head and wing pads Close-up of small brown insects on a fibrous surface. Psocid – have a translucent or off-white appearance; when indoors, referred to as booklice; when outdoors, referred to as barklice; they feed on decaying organic matter, molds, and mildew; frequent in more humid and damp climates Close-up of a small, fuzzy insect on a rough surface. Springtail – known as hexapods rather than insects; mostly grey, black, brown, or dark-colored; other species can even be white or brightly colored; typically, thin and elongated, but one group is stout and rounded; have no wings and can not fly, but can jump several inches; often are mistaken for flees Close-up of a brown shield bug on a tree branch. Brown marmorated stink bug – obtains piercing/sucking mouthparts to drink fluids; received its name from the brown markings covering its body; can be confused with native stink bugs, but can be differentiated by the white bands on its antennae Close-up of a small brown beetle on a green leaf. Kudzu Bug – small, green insect that obtains piercing/sucking mouthparts to drink fluids from plant tissue; shaped in a pentagonal form, and their outer surface is usually speckled an olive-green hue; can produce an odor if disturbed like stink bugs Close-up of a brown moth resting on a textured white surface. Candle Moths – has a broad variation in both appearance and behavior; most are typically gray to brown with spots or lines located on their wings; strongly attracted to lights and are usually nocturnal Close-up of a brown moth with patterned wings resting on a white surface. Idianmeal Moth – small with reddish-brown coloring at the ends of its wings; adult may be more visible, but the larvae cause the damage; the infested foods will be covered in silk and coated in fecal pellets Close-up of a small brown beetle with textured body and antennae. Rice weevil – coloration is a dull reddish brown; thorax has pitted punctures with four yellow-red spots on their wings; typically found in grain storage; adults can fly and are attracted to lights Close-up of a silverfish insect on a textured surface. Silverfish – coloration is white to a brownish grey with three long bristles at the rear; they prefer to inhabit dark, damp areas