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Pest Files: page 5

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

Articles

Row of tall arborvitae beside a suburban driveway on a grey winter morningLawn and garden

Bagworms: How to Spot the Bags and Save Your Evergreens

Bagworms strip arborvitae, juniper and cedar from June to August. When to pick the bags, when Bt actually works, whether trees recover, and where bagworms are...

October 29, 2026Sunlit wooden deck with a bird feeder on a pole beneath tall oak treesWildlife

Squirrel Poop: What It Looks Like vs Rat Droppings

Squirrel droppings are rounded pellets about 3/8 inch long, shorter and blunter than rat droppings. How to identify them, what they can and cannot spread, and...

October 29, 2026Stucco house and block garden wall in the Arizona desert at duskSpiders and scorpions

Bark Scorpions: Arizona vs Striped, Stings and Where They Live

The Arizona bark scorpion is the one US scorpion of medical concern; the striped bark scorpion is painful but rarely serious. How to tell them apart,...

October 29, 2026Pale bedroom ceiling corner above a bed in soft evening lamplightSpiders and scorpions

Yellow Sac Spiders: Bites, Identification and Indoor Sightings

Yellow sac spiders are small, pale night hunters whose bite is painful but rarely more. How to tell them from a brown recluse, where they live...

October 29, 2026Sun-baked lawn edge in August with bare sandy soil beside a drivewayWasps and bees

Velvet Ants (Cow Killers): Sting, Identification and Control

Velvet ants are fuzzy, wingless wasps with a very painful sting and weak venom. How to identify them, what they do in your lawn, when they...

October 29, 2026Calm lake shoreline at dusk with a wooden dock and a lamp postFor Property Owners

Mayflies: Why Swarms Hit Lakeside Towns and What to Do

Mayflies are harmless: adults cannot feed, bite or sting and live a day or two. Why June and July swarms show on radar, slick roads, signal...

October 29, 2026Wooden deck beside a wooded creek in early summer lightSpiders and scorpions

Fishing Spiders: Size, Bites and Why They Turn Up Indoors

Fishing spiders are big, shy and harmless. How to tell one from a wolf spider, how they hunt on water, why males die after mating, and...

October 29, 2026Wooded suburban backyard edge in October light with a sunflower bed and split-rail fenceLawn and garden

Wheel Bugs: Identification, Bite Risk and Why to Leave Them

The cogwheel-crested wheel bug bites only when handled, but the bite is severe and slow to heal. How to identify adults, red nymphs and egg masses,...

October 29, 2026Dry desert hillside with yucca trees and creosote bushes in warm lightWasps and bees

Tarantula Hawks: Sting Pain, Range and Are They Dangerous?

The tarantula hawk has one of the most painful stings of any insect but very weak venom. How it paralyses tarantulas, where and when it is...

October 29, 2026Sunlit late-summer garden border of goldenrod and milkweed beside a wooden fenceFleas and biting bugs

Assassin Bugs: Identification, Bites and Which Ones Matter

Most US assassin bugs are garden predators whose bite hurts but is not dangerous. How to identify the common ones, and how to tell a kissing...

October 29, 2026Sandy desert yard at sunset with scattered rocks and a creosote bushSpiders and scorpions

Camel Spiders: Real Size, Myths and the US Sun Spiders

Camel spiders are solifuges, not true spiders, and have no venom. The Iraq myths checked against measurements, the US species, bites, and where and when Americans...

October 29, 2026Bright windowsill lined with potted houseplants in morning lightLawn and garden

Thrips: How to Identify Them and Stop the Damage

How to confirm thrips with a white-paper tap test, tell their damage from spider mites and aphids, why sprays miss eggs and soil pupae, and what...

October 29, 2026