Identifying Household Pests 101

A guide to common pests found in NYC and the Tri-State Area and how to identify them.

If you find something in your home and can’t tell what it is, you can also send a picture to our Free Pest ID center and the pest experts at MMPC will help identify it for you.

For eco-friendly pest control services in New York City and the surrounding areas, contact us!

  • Ants
  • Cockroaches
  • Flies
  • Rodents
  • Bed Bugs
  • Biting Midges
  • Fleas
  • Mosquitoes
  • Ticks
  • Carpet Beetles
  • Carpet Beetle Larvae
  • Clothes Moths
  • Beetles
  • Booklice
  • Fruit Flies
  • Pantry Moths
  • Carpenter Ants
  • Carpenter Bees
  • Powderpost Beetles
  • Termites
  • Aphids
  • Fungus Gnats
  • Vine Weevils
  • Centipedes and Millipedes
  • Crickets
  • Silverfish
  • Spiders
  • Spotted Lanternflies
  • Other Critters

Common Household Pests:

Ants, Cockroaches, Flies, and Rodents


Ants

Slender, segmented body with a pinched waist, bent antennae, and 6 legs

Odorous House Ant
Pavement Ant
Black Carpenter Ant
Red Carpenter Ant
Chestnut Carpenter Ant

Cockroaches

Long, oval-shaped insects with thread-like antennae, 6 legs, and 2 pairs of wings

German Cockroach
American Cockroach
Oriental Cockroach
Brown Banded Cockroach

Flies

Small, oval-shaped flying insects with large compound eyes, short antennae, 6 legs, and 1 pair of wings

House Fly
Fruit Fly
Drain Fly
Phorid Fly
Biting Midge
Dark Winged Fungus Gnat

Rodents

Gray or brown fur, protruding incisors (front teeth), and a long scaly tail

House Mouse
Norway Rat

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Biting Insects

Bed Bugs, Biting Midges, Fleas, Mosquitoes, and Ticks


Bed Bugs

Flat, oval-shaped insects that are reddish-brown with a large abdomen, short antennae, and 6 legs

Bed Bug Adult
Bed Bug Nymph

Biting Midges

Tiny, oval-shaped flying insects with short antennae, 6 legs, and 1 pair of grayish-colored wings

Biting Midge

Fleas

Wingless insects with a reddish-brown or black, laterally flattened body with 6 legs (hind legs are especially long)

Cat Flea

Mosquitoes

Long, slender flying insects with needle-like mouthparts, thin or feathered antennae, 6 legs, and 1 pair of wings

Northern House Mosquito
Asian Tiger Mosquito
Yellow Fever Mosquito
Eastern Saltmarsh Mosquito
Common Malaria Mosquito

Ticks

Flat, oval-shaped arachnids with a large abdomen, a shield-like plate on its back called the “scutum,” and 8 legs (each with 7 segments)

American Dog Tick
Brown Dog Tick
Eastern Blacklegged Tick
Lone Star Tick

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Stinging Insects

Bees and Wasps


Bees

Fuzzy, oval-shaped body with thin antennae, 6 legs, 2 pairs of wings, and a stinger

Western Honey Bee
Common Eastern Bumble Bee
Eastern Carpenter Bee

Wasps

Smooth, segmented body with thin antennae, 6 legs, 2 pairs of wings, and a stinger

Bald Faced Hornet
European Paper Wasp
Eastern Yellow Jacket
Bethylid Wasp

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Fabric Pests

Carpet Beetles and Clothes Moths


Carpet Beetles

Oval-shaped body with a hard shell, clubbed antennae, 6 legs, and 2 pairs of wings (the hardened forewings are called the “elytra”)

Black Carpet Beetle
Varied Carpet Beetle
Furniture Carpet Beetle

Carpet Beetle Larvae

Soft, cigar-shaped body covered in hairs and bristles with alternating light and dark stripes

Black Carpet Beetle Larva
Varied Carpet Beetle Larva
Furniture Carpet Beetle Larva

Clothes Moths

Flying insects with a furry head, long and thin antennae, 6 legs, and 2 pairs of slender wings fringed with short hairs

Webbing Clothes Moth
Case-Bearing Clothes Moth

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Pantry Pests

Beetles, Booklice, Fruit Flies, and Pantry Moths


Beetles

A hard, protective shell, antennae in various sizes, 6 legs, and 2 pairs of wings (in some species the hardened forewings, or “elytra,” are fused together)

Shiny Spider Beetle
American Spider Beetle
Cigarette Beetle
Drugstore Beetle
Sawtoothed Grain Beetle
Rice Weevil

Booklice

Pale, wingless insects with a wide head, a narrow thorax, a large abdomen, thin antennae, and 6 legs

Booklouse

Fruit Flies

Tan or brownish-yellow flying insects with red compound eyes, barely visible antennae, 6 legs, and 1 pair of transparent wings

Fruit Fly

Pantry Moths

Reddish-bronze and gray flying insects with long, thin antennae and 2 pairs of bicolored wings (upper 1/3 gray, lower 2/3 bronze)

Indianmeal Moth

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Wood Destroying Pests

Carpenter Ants, Carpenter Bees, and Termites


Carpenter Ants

Black, segmented body with a pinched waist, large mandibles, bent antennae, and 6 legs

Black Carpenter Ant
Red Carpenter Ant
Chestnut Carpenter Ant

Carpenter Bees

Fuzzy, oval-shaped body with thin antennae, 6 legs, 2 pairs of wings, and a stinger

Eastern Carpenter Bee

Powderpost Beetles

Reddish-brown, cylindrical-shaped beetles with a hard shell, short antennae, 6 legs, and 2 pairs of wings

Powderpost Beetle

Termites

Narrow, soft-bodied insects with a broad waist, straight antennae, and 6 legs

Termite Worker
Termite Soldier
Termite Swarmer

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Houseplant Pests

Aphids, Fungus Gnats, and Vine Weevils


Aphids

Tiny, pear-shaped insects with long antennae, 6 legs, and 2 small tubes sticking out from the rear

Green Peach Aphid

Fungus Gnats

Resembles tiny mosquitoes with a slender abdomen, thread-like antennae, 6 long legs, and 1 pair of wings

Dark Winged Fungus Gnat

Vine Weevils

Stout, oval-shaped beetles with a pronounced snout-like structure (“rostrum”), elbowed antennae, and 6 legs

Black Vine Weevil

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Occasional Invaders

Centipedes, Millipedes, Crickets, Silverfish, Spiders, Spotted Lanternflies, and Other Bugs


Centipedes and Millipedes

Many-legged arthropods with elongated bodies

Centipede
Millipede

Crickets

Long, oval-shaped insects with thread-like antennae, 6 legs (the hind pair is extra long), and 2 pairs of wings (except for spider crickets)

House Cricket
Spider Cricket

Silverfish

Silvery, carrot-shaped insects with long antennae, 6 short legs, and bristle-like appendages on the rear

Silverfish

Spiders

2 body segments (cephalothorax and abdomen) with 8 long legs

Common House Spider
Yellow Garden Spider
Grass Spider
Wolf Spider
Yellow Sac Spider
Brown Recluse

Spotted Lanternflies

Black, red, and brownish-gray flying insects with bulb-like orange antennae, 6 legs, and 2 pairs of large, butterfly-like wings

Spotted Lanternfly Adult
Spotted Lanternfly Nymphs

Other Critters

  • Multicolored Asian Lady Beetles
  • Soldier Beetles
  • Boxelder Bugs
  • Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs
  • Western Conifer Seed Bugs
  • Pill Bugs / Roly-Polies
  • Sow Bugs
Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle
Soldier Beetle
Boxelder Bug
Stink Bug
Seed Bug
Pill Bug
Sow Bug

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