PEST LIBRARY
Ants
Bat Bugs
Bed Bugs
Beetles
Boxelder Bugs
Carpenter Ants
Carpenter Bees
Centipedes
Cockroaches
Crickets
Earwigs
Eastern Subterranean Termites
Fleas
Hornets
Ladybugs
Mice
Millipedes
Mosquitoes
Silverfish
Spiders
Ants
Ants are the most difficult pests to prevent from entering your home or business. They leave pheromone trails to communicate with their colony that your place offers free meals and a place to crash. In addition to food contamination caused by bacterial and fungal transmission, their bite can cause allergic reactions.
Bat Bugs
Bat bugs are blood-sucking parasites that feed primarily on the blood of bats. They are visually similar to bed bugs. When they can’t find a bat host or fall off of flying bats, they migrate into homes. They will feed on humans and domestic animals but can survive over a year without feeding.
Bed Bugs
The common bed bug is a nasty pest that feeds on blood, causing itchy bites, and general irritation. They can be hard to find and identify, given their small size and their habit of staying hidden. It helps to know what they look like, since the various life stages have different forms.
Beetles
The midwest is known for having a wide variety of beetles. Some are harmless, while others can cause damage or infestations in your home. Some are attracted to moisture in new construction. Most beetles hitch a ride on clothing, items, pets, and through open doors and windows.
Boxelder Bugs
Boxelder bugs are nuisance pests. Lucky for us, they don’t sting or transmit disease, and are generally not known to bite. They aren’t known to cause damage to homes or significant damage to plants but their feces can stain light colored surfaces. As winter approaches, boxelder bugs seek out shelter from the cold. They can fly up to two miles to find a suitable location in tree stumps, under debris, or within homes.
Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants are one of the most common household pests in the Midwest. Besides being a nuisance indoors, these ants damage wood by hollowing it out for nesting space. While carpenter ants do not eat wood, large colonies can be destructive.
Carpenter Bees
Carpenter bees are one of the largest native bees in the United States. They chew into dead, non-decayed tree limbs or trunks of standing dead trees. Some species occasionally take up residence in fence posts or structural timbers and become a minor nuisance. They will lay their eggs inside hollowed wood segments.
Centipedes
House centipedes, like all centipedes, are predators of other arthropods. Their diet consists of cockroach nymphs, spiders, silverfish, crickets, bedbugs, flies, moths, and earwigs, many of which are considered household pests. House centipedes subdue their prey with venomous fangs. They cannot easily bite humans, but if they do, it is generally no worse than a bee sting.
Cockroaches
Cockroaches are a threat to human health by consuming our food and contaminating the indoor environment. They transfer disease pathogens by contaminating food, food preparation surfaces, dishes and utensils. All are primarily nocturnal and prefer warm, moist places where they can feed on human and pet foods, decaying and fermenting matter, and a variety of other items.
Crickets
Crickets are a common household pest. We know them for their annoying chirping sounds that the adult males make by rubbing their wings together. Crickets invade homes mostly during the fall. They’re also attracted to light. Once inside, they feed on and cause damage to cotton, linen, wool, silk and fur. Materials soiled by sweat or food are more likely to be damaged.
Earwigs
Earwigs are brown, flat-bodied insects. Their tail has pincer-like appendages used for capturing prey, for defense, and mating. Earwigs can bite and pinch people who handle them, but are otherwise harmless. They are most active at night and are attracted to lights. During the day, they rest in moist cracks and crevices, coming out at night to feed on a wide variety of items including mold, fungi, algae, plants, insects, spiders, fruits, vegetables, meats and garbage.
Eastern Subterranean Termites
The eastern subterranean termite is the most common termite found in North America. They feed on cellulose material like structural wood, wooden fixtures, paper, books, and cotton. A mature colony can range from 20,000 to as high as 5 million. The queen lays 5,000 to 10,000 eggs per year.
Fleas
Fleas are most often found on our cats and dogs. They reproduce rapidly and lay their eggs on the animal while it rests.
Hornets
If you see a hornet, you can bet that a nest is near. Nests occur in trees, attics, and wall voids of structures near forested areas. Nests can be a threat if they’re located in a structure or in close-proximity to human activity.
Ladybugs
Ladybugs typically arrive at our homes in large numbers in the fall to escape the cold. In small numbers, they are more of a nuisance and actually each plant pests like aphids, mealybugs and scale insects.
Mice
Mice are pests when they infest houses, threaten public health, and destroy property. They can damage or destroy critical habitats, native plants and animals, crops, property, and food supplies.
Millipedes
Most millipedes are cylindrical, slow-moving plant-feeding creatures that can curl up and release foul-smelling secretions when disturbed. They live in damp places; under rocks, logs, leaves and mulch. When conditions aren’t suitable in the wooded areas where they are abundant, millipedes sometimes embark on mass migrations and enter homes in large numbers. They enter in search of moisture, food, and shelter
Mosquitoes
Mosquitos are, by far, the worst insect pests. Worldwide, they’re most notable for spreading malaria, but in the United States, the threat of developing encephalitis from mosquitoes is far greater. These include the viruses of West Nile, St. Louis encephalitis, LaCrosse (California) encephalitis, and Eastern equine, and Western equine encephalitis.
Silverfish
Silverfish are wingless but they move quickly. They feed and damage a variety of materials including bookbindings, wallpaper, paper, cereal, and dried meat. They may also damage fabrics but usually avoid wool. Silverfish prefer dark spaces and are most active at night. Homes and businesses can provide a good environment for a few species. You can find them in attics, basements, closets, bookshelves, and storage rooms.
Spiders
Spiders are commonly found living and reproducing indoors. You’ll frequently encounter cellar spiders and cobweb spiders and hopefully avoid more dangerous widow spiders and brown recluse spiders.