Identifying Household Pests 101

Ants

Small crawling insects with 3 body segments, 6 legs, bent antennae, and a narrow waist

Cockroaches

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

Flies

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

Rodents

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

Bed Bugs

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

Biting Midges

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

Fleas

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

Mosquitoes

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

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)

Bees

Fuzzy, yellow-and-black flying insects with thin antennae, 6 legs, 2 pairs of wings, and a stinger

Wasps

Yellow-and-black flying insects with thin antennae, 6 legs, 2 pairs of wings, and a stinger

Carpet Beetles

Oval-shaped beetles with clubbed antennae and 6 legs

Carpet Beetle Larvae

Soft-bodied larvae with an elongated body covered in hairs and bristles with alternating light and dark stripes

Clothes Moths

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

Beetles

Insects with a protective exoskeleton, hardened forewings (elytra), and 6 legs

Booklice

Pale, wingless insects with an elongated body, thread-like antennae, and 6 legs

Fruit Flies

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

Pantry Moths

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

Carpenter Ants

Small crawling insects with 3 body segments, bent antennae, 6 legs, large mandibles, and a narrow waist

Carpenter Bees

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

Powderpost Beetles

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

Termites

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

Aphids

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

Fungus Gnats

Small flies resembling tiny mosquitoes with a slender abdomen, thread-like antennae, 6 legs, and 1 pair of wings

Vine Weevils

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

Centipedes and Millipedes

Many-legged arthropods with elongated bodies

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)

Silverfish

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

Spiders

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

Spotted Lanternflies

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

Other Critters

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