Top 10 Pests
Click on the links below to learn more about these common pests.
- Termite
- Bed Bug
- American Cockroach
- Earwig
- Millipede
- Silverfish
- Yellow Jacket
- Paper Wasp
- Black Carpet Beetle
- Boxelder Bug
Termite
Basic description
- Termites are soft-bodied.
- They're about one-eighth-inch long.
Habits
- Termites build nests underground.
- As many as five million termites may live in a single subterranean colony.
- In their relentless pursuit of food, termites may travel hundreds of feet to forage – meaning a major colony can put an entire neighborhood at risk.
For more information: TermiteInstitute.com and TermidorHome.com
Bed Bug
Basic description
- Bed bugs are brownish-red in color.
- They're about the size and shape of an apple seed.
Habits
- Bed bugs love dark, cool places.
- They're often found in mattress seams, luggage crevices, and wall and floorboard cracks.
- Heavy bed bug infestations can fill a bedroom with a sweet, pungent smell.
For more information: BedBugInstitute.com and PhantomHome.com
American Cockroach
Basic description
- Adults are one-and-a-half-inch long.
- They're reddish-brown, with light markings on their thorax.
- Roaches have long, thin appendages (cerci) at the end of their abdomens.
Habits
- Roaches are common in sewers and basements.
- They can be found on ship and naval vessels, particularly in pipes.
- American cockroaches are the largest type of home-infesting roaches and sometimes are referred to as palmetto bugs.
For more information: TermidorHome.com and PhantomHome.com
Earwig
Basic description
- Earwigs are one-half to one-inch long.
- They're reddish-brown in color.
- They appear flat.
- Long forceps-like pinchers extend from their last abdominal segment.
Habits
- Earwigs are found worldwide.
- They're mostly active at night.
- They prefer cool, moist hiding places.
- They burrow into the ground or leaf litter for shelter.
For more information: TermidorHome.com
Millipede
Basic description
- Millipedes are one to one-and-a-half inches long.
- They're brownish in color.
- During their lives, they molt seven to 10 times; after each molt, the number of segments and legs increases.
- Two pairs of legs are attached to each body segment.
- Millipedes are nocturnal.
Habits
- Millipedes live outdoors, but come indoors if conditions outside are not favorable.
- They can be found on basement floors or crawling up walls.
- They feed on decaying wood and any type of vegetable matter.
- Millipedes are slow-crawling insects that during the day hide under objects in damp soil.
- They protect themselves by emitting an unpleasant odor.
- Some species have a gland that secretes a mixture of chemicals; this mixture is not toxic to humans, but may cause skin blistering.
For more information: TermidorHome.com
Silverfish (Lepismatidae)
Description
- Silverfish are one-half to three-quarters of an inch long.
- Their wingless, flattened bodies are shaped like a carrot.
- They're silver to gray in color.
Habits
- Silverfish can be found worldwide inside warm, humid buildings.
- They will travel far for food, but stay close to a food source once they find it.
For more information: TermidorHome.com
Yellow Jacket (Vespula)
Description
- Adult workers are three-eighths to five-eighths inch in length; queens are up to 25 percent larger.
- Their name is derived from the black-and-yellow pattern on their abdomens.
- Their front lip (clypeus) is notched.
- Yellow jackets are beneficial because they feed on other insects.
- Colonies can contain thousands of yellow jackets.
- They're slow to sting unless the entrance to their nest is disturbed.
- An individual can sting several times.
Habits
- Yellow jackets build nests in structural voids or on the ground, usually in areas without vegetation; nests also are commonly attached to shrubs, sheds, houses, etc.
- They guard their nest entrance.
- They built their nests with chewed-up cellulose material, divided into cells; one egg is laid in each cell.
- Yellow jackets scavenge in trash for food, and feed on fruit juices and other sweets.
- Adults feed on larvae soft-bodied insects; the larvae secrete a sugar-containing substance that the adults eat.
- The male yellow jacket dies shortly after mating.
For more information: TermidorHome.com and PhantomHome.com
Paper Wasp (Polistes)
Description
- Brown and black paper wasps are found in the northern part of North America.
- Brown, orange and yellow paper wasps live in the southern range of North America.
- Both types have a pair of light-colored lines on the rear of the thorax.
- A pair of orange-to-pale brown oval patches can be seen on either side of the abdomen.
- All females are potential queens.
- When a queen emerges, other females become workers.
- Paper wasps are not aggressive unless the nest is disturbed.
Habits
- To build their nests, paper wasps gather fibers from plants and mix them with saliva.
- Nests form a U shape, with a layer of comb-cells pointing downward, supported by a single long stalk-like structure.
- Nests are usually small, with 300 to 2,000 cells.
- Nests are built under protective foliage, i.e. under decks, behind shutters.
For more information: TermidorHome.com
Black Carpet Beetle (Attagenus megatoma)
Description
- Adults are one-eighth to a quarter-inch long.
- Adults are dark brown to black in color, oval in shape and twice as long as wide.
- Larva has an elongated body; last abdominal segment has long tuft of hairs.
- Larva is light brown to dark brown in color and may be a half-inch long.
Habits
- The black carpet beetle is the most widespread and destructive carpet beetle in the United States.
- They are numerous during the spring and early summer months.
- In their larval stage, they can damage fabrics and plant materials; they're sometimes found under heavy furniture such as pianos, and at carpet edges.
- Damage often results in a number of small, unevenly spaced holes.
- Larvae roam widely, normally searching for food in dark areas, shunning sunlight.
- Larvae move slowly; when disturbed they curl up and "play dead."
For more information: TermidorHome.com
Boxelder Bug (Boisea trivitatta)
Description
- Boxelders are about one-half-inch long.
- They're dark-brownish/black in color.
- They have three vertical red stripes on the thorax, red margins near the base of the wings.
Habits
- Boxelers are found throughout North America and Canada.
- They feed on the boxelder tree, silver maples and others.
- They overwinter in buildings if food supply is present.
For more information: TermidorHome.com or PhantomHome.com
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