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Pest Files: page 21

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

Articles

Dark inside corner of a kitchen cabinet with a small plain white bait disc against the back edgeCockroaches

Gel Bait or Spray for Roaches: Why Delivery Decides It

The same laboratory tested both against the same cockroaches. Every bait killed at least 80 per cent in 14 days; every consumer spray killed under 20...

September 19, 2026Kitchen worktop with a plain amber glass spray bottle, a dish of white powder and fresh mintFor Property Owners

Do Natural Pest Control Products Work? What the Testing Shows

EPA does not review minimum risk products for efficacy. CDC testing put cedarwood tick sprays at 5 to 6 per cent and a registered product at...

September 19, 2026Damp concrete basement floor meeting a painted block wall with a dark water stain along the baseDamp-loving pests

Woodlice, Sowbugs and Pillbugs: What They Are Telling You

Woodlice are crustaceans with seven pairs of legs, they die indoors within days, and a steady trickle of them is a moisture report on the ground...

September 19, 2026Potted houseplants on a bright windowsill, one with yellowing speckled leavesLawn and garden

Houseplant Pests: Fungus Gnats, Spider Mites, Scale and Mealybugs

Fungus gnats at 1.5 to 3 mm, spider mites at 1.3 mm and scale from 1 to 6.4 mm, with the watering and removal fixes that...

September 19, 2026Unmade bed with rumpled white sheets in morning light with curtains half drawnFleas and biting bugs

What Bit Me? Why Bite Patterns Are Weak Evidence

About 30% of people never react to bed bug bites and reactions can take up to 14 days to appear. What bite patterns can narrow down,...

September 18, 2026Dog lying on a patterned rug in a sunlit living roomFleas and biting bugs

Why Fleas Come Back Two Weeks After Treatment

The pupa waits inside a cocoon that insecticide does not penetrate, typically one to four weeks and up to 12 months in cool conditions. The full...

September 18, 2026Exposed timber floor joist and subfloor seen from a crawl space under torchlightTermites

Reading Wood Damage: Termite, Carpenter Ant, Beetle or Rot

Soil in the tunnel means termites, smooth clean galleries mean carpenter ants, round holes with powder mean beetles, and no tunnels at all means decay.

September 18, 2026Hiking boots and socks on a trail where mown path meets tall grass and brushMosquitoes and ticks

Tick Identification: Which Tick, and When It Is Out

Blacklegged nymphs are active April through July and carry the most human risk. A month-by-month activity chart by species and life stage, and what each transmits.

September 18, 2026Inside 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, 2026