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Pest Files: page 20

One reference page per pest: identification, the damage it does, what treatment involves and how long it realistically takes.

Articles

Inside a kitchen cabinet under a sink with pipes and a dark gap lit by a torch beamCockroaches

Cockroach Identification: The Five US Species to Scale

German, brown-banded, Oriental, smokybrown and American cockroaches drawn to one common scale, with the marker for each, which of them fly, and where each lives in...

September 18, 2026Bare mattress on a wooden bed frame in a plainly furnished bedroom in daylightBed bugs

Bed Bug Identification: Every Life Stage at Actual Size

Eggs are 1 mm and first-stage nymphs 1.5 mm, which is why infestations are found by their evidence rather than the insects. All seven stages drawn...

September 18, 2026Inside of an empty kitchen cabinet with the door open and light falling across the shelvesRats and mice

Droppings Identification: Mouse, Rat or Cockroach

Mouse droppings run about 6 mm with pointed ends, Norway rat up to 19 mm with blunt ends, and cockroach droppings carry ridges and squared ends....

September 18, 2026Cluttered garage corner with cardboard boxes, stacked firewood and cobwebs in the roof angleSpiders and scorpions

Is It a Brown Recluse? Identifying Spiders by the Evidence

Of 581 spiders submitted from California as brown recluses, exactly one was. The established range, the six-eye check, and why the violin marking is the least...

September 18, 2026Kitchen worktop meeting the wall with crumbs and a damp patch near the sink in morning lightAnts

Ant Identification: The Species That Get Into US Homes

Seven house-invading ants drawn to scale, from the 0.8 mm thief ant to the 12.7 mm carpenter ant, plus the waist-node key that separates them.

September 18, 2026Porch light glowing at dusk against a house wall with small flying insects circling itTermites

Termite Swarm Season: When Each Species Actually Flies

Eastern subterranean termites swarm February to April, Formosan April to July and only after dark. A month-by-month chart by species, and why swarmers indoors mean something...

September 18, 2026Cattle grazing in a dry south Texas pasture at golden hourFlies, moths and pantry pests

Screwworm Returns After 60 Years: What Owners Should Know

The US was free of it from 1966 until June 3, 2026. CDC rates the current public risk very low. What to watch for on animals,...

September 14, 2026Plastic buckets and a tub left beside a garden fence holding standing rainwaterMosquitoes and ticks

What Mosquito Spraying Does About Disease Risk

Florida has 111 locally acquired dengue cases in 2026 so far. Barrier sprays are measured on mosquito numbers, not illness. Only county-wide aerial spraying has disease...

September 14, 2026Mound of loose reddish soil raised in a patch of green lawn grassAnts

The Fire Ant Quarantine Covers 367 Million Acres

A federal rule since 1958, binding businesses that move soil, sod and hay. It dropped from 14 states to 13 in August 2025. Plus why mound-by-mound...

September 14, 2026Brown dog standing in the grass of a fenced back yard on a summer afternoonMosquitoes and ticks

The Asian Longhorned Tick Is Found on Dogs More Than Cattle

USDA records 179 detections on dogs against 73 on cattle. One female can found a population without mating, which is why a single treatment does not...

September 14, 2026Porch light and lit window on the side of a house at dusk with insects gathering around the lightFleas and biting bugs

Kissing Bugs and Chagas: What Exclusion Can Actually Do

No insecticide is approved specifically for kissing bugs in the US. Found in 32 states, with local human transmission documented in 8. The work is sealing...

September 14, 2026Mown lawn meeting tall unmown grass and brush at the edge of a yardMosquitoes and ticks

Does Yard Tick Spraying Prevent Alpha-Gal Syndrome?

A trial of 2,727 households cut ticks 63% and changed human illness not at all. What that means for the tick-bite meat allergy, and what does...

September 14, 2026