Pest Library

Ants are pests around the home because they feed on and contaminate human foods, infest structures, and build unsightly mounds in lawns. In some cases, ants are able to inflict painful bites or stings. Ants do not attack or eat fabrics, leather or wood in houses; however, some species can establish nests in decaying wood in structures. The ants listed below are the most common pests found in North America, please select from the list below to learn more about the specific ant.

Bed bugs are small, oval, wingless, parasitic insects of the family Cimicidae. Adult bed bugs reach 5-7 mm in length, while nymphs (juveniles) are as small as 1.5 mm. Bed bugs have flat bodies and may sometimes be mistaken for ticks. Bed bugs live strictly by feeding on the blood of humans and other warm-blooded animals. Adult bed bugs are reddish brown in color, appearing more reddish after feeding. Nymphs are clear in color and appear bright red after feeding.

While bed bugs are often reported to be found when sanitation conditions are poor, they can also live and thrive in clean environments. Bed bugs tend to be most common in areas where people sleep and generally concentrate in beds, including mattresses, box springs, and bed frames. Other sites where bed bugs often reside include curtains, the corners inside dressers and other furniture, particularly near the bed. Bed bugs are increasingly becoming a problem within residences of all kinds, including homes, apartments, hotels, cruise ships, dormitories and shelters.

In recent years, the U.S. has observed an increasingly high population of bed bug infestation, which may be due to the increases in immigration and travel from the developing world as well as restrictions on the use of stronger pesticides.

Bed bugs are most active at night and bite any exposed areas of skin while an individual is sleeping. The bite itself is painless and is usually not noticed. Small, flat, or raised bumps on the skin are the most common sign; redness, swelling, and itching commonly occur. If scratched, the bite areas can become infected. A peculiarity of bed bug bites is the tendency to find several bites lined up in a row. Bed bug bites may go unnoticed or be mistaken for flea or mosquito bites or other types of rash or skin conditions.

The Bees listed below are the most common pests found in North American, please select from the list below to learn more about the specific Bees.

The following beetles and moths infest stored product foods.

There are over 1,000 species of millipede worldwide. Millipedes belong to the class Diplopoda, which has at least 15 recognized orders of millipedes. Most millipedes are brownish or blackish, wormlike, segmented and slow moving. Each body segment has two pairs of very short legs. Millipedes that commonly invade buildings are about 1/4 - 1 inch long and tend to coil up like a watch spring when disturbed. They do not bite, unlike some centipedes which have one pair of legs per body segment and tend to be faster moving.

Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattodea (the name Blattaria is sometimes used). The names of the order are derived from Greek blatta, meaning "cockroach". There are roughly 3,500 species in 6 families. Cockroaches exist worldwide, with the exception of the polar regions and in elevations above 2,000 m (6,500 ft). The roaches listed below are the most common pests found in North American, please select from the list below to learn more about the specific cockroach.

The Earwigs listed below are the most common pests found in North American, please select from the list below to learn more about the specific Earwigs.

The Flies listed below are the most common pests found in North American, please select from the list below to learn more about the specific Flies.

Hemiptera are considered True Bugs. Their species number almost 5,000 in North America, and 40,000 worldwide. Almost all of them have a first pair of wings that fold flat over the back, and mouthparts formed into a beak, adapted for sucking plant juices. Between the wings, the modified back of the metathorax forms a distinctive triangular shield, called the scutellum. Most true bugs are terrestrial, but some are aquatic, and their legs have evolved into oar like structures.

Many species have glands that exude odoriferous chemicals to repel predators. Some species are carnivorous, while some others are parasitic, while still others nectar at flowers like butterflies. All in all, a diverse, fascinating group of flying insects. This order was formerly called Hemiptera.

The True Bugs are insects that have two pairs of wings, the front or outer pair of each divided into a leathery basal part and a membranous apical part. These wing covers are held over the back and often partly folded. True bugs have hypodermic-needle-like mouthparts that allow them to extract subsurface fluids from plants and animals. Bugs undergo incomplete metamorphosis, with their young looking much like adults but without wings.

The Clothing Moth (Tineola bisselliella) and the Case-bearing Clothes Moth (Tinea pellionella) are notorious for feeding on clothing and natural fibres; they have the ability to turn keratin, a protein present in hair and wool, into food. Clothing moths prefer dirty fabric and are particularly attracted to carpeting and clothing that contain human sweat or other liquids which have been spilled onto them. They are attracted to these areas not for the food but for the moisture. Moth larvae do not drink water; consequently their food must contain moisture.

The webbing clothes moth is small and unobtrusive, but it can cause extensive damage to wool and silk clothing, carpets, furs, upholstery and blankets. The webbing clothes moth is said to be the most common variety.

The Tapestry or Carpet Moth (Trichophaga tapetiella) will infest all the same areas as webbing cloth and casemaking moths. Tapestry moths complete their cycles within a year and are more like webbing clothes moths in that they spin webbing in areas where they like to reside. As with the other two, their speed of development depends entirely upon local temperature, humidity and food supplies.

In terms of number of species — although not necessarily in terms of number of organisms (population) or biomass — rodents make up the largest order of mammals, with over 40 percent of mammalian species belonging to the order.[1] Their success is probably due to their small size, short breeding cycle, and ability to gnaw and eat a wide variety of foods.(Lambert, 200)

There are between 2000 and 3000 species of rodents, which are found in vast numbers on all continents except Antarctica, most islands, and in all habitats except for oceans. They are the only placental order other than bats (Chiroptera) to reach Australia without human introduction.

Over 50% of all the species of mammals are rodents, named after the Latin word "rodere" meaning 'to gnaw'.

Rodents have two incisors in the upper as well as in the lower jaw which grow continuously and must be kept worn down by gnawing; this is the origin of the name, from the Latin rodere, to gnaw, and dens, dentis, tooth. These teeth are used for cutting wood, biting through the skin of fruit, or for defense. The teeth have enamel on the outside and exposed dentine on the inside, so they self-sharpen during gnawing. Rodents lack canines, and have a space between their incisors and premolars. Nearly all rodents feed on plants, seeds in particular, but there are a few exceptions which eat insects or even fish.

Slug are Mollusks, which means they are soft-bodied with no visible skeleton. They also belong to the class Gastropoda, which can be recognized by having a muscular foot, a mantle with a cavity, a meaty hump on their back, and a radula (or sand-paper-like grinding mouth parts). They are Pulmonates, which means they have a small lung inside their bodies which opens to the outside with a pneumostone. A slug breathes through its skin and just like the insides of our lungs, the skin must be moist to exchange gases

Spiders (Order Araneae) are the largest group in the class Arachnida. There are more than 35,000 described species worldwide, including about 3,000 in North America. These familiar predators live almost everywhere - on the ground, in trees, under rocks, among grasses, in the desert, and even on the water. They are most easily recognized by their four pairs of 7-segmented legs. Spiders are considered beneficial, keeping the insect population in check. The vast majority of spiders do not bite people, and are harmless.

Ticks and mites make up a large group of arachnids. Tick species number 1,000 while mites are known in more than 30,000 species, with probably a million other species still unidentified. Many mites are beneficial, feeding on aphid eggs or attacking insects on plants. Ticks are generally larger than mites. Both adults and young are external blood-feeding parasites of birds, mammals and reptiles. Ticks cling to their hosts using a dart-like anchor located just below the mouth. Ticks sometimes carry diseases from one animal to another. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is a rickettsial (viral) infection often found in dogs, coyotes, and other wild animals. Lyme disease is another tick-born illness.