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Length: 1/4 - 1/2 inches long.
Color: Solid black or black and red
Description: Among the largest household ants. Prefer wood damaged by moisture, fungus or other insects.
Length: 1/4 inch long.
Color: Workers are bright yellow. Winged reproductives are dark brown.
Description: Large, attractive, bright yellow ants. All workers of this species are the same size. The winged reproductives are dark brown and 1/4 inch long. All members of the colony have a pleasant citrus smell when crushed. Citronella ants forage below the surface of the soil and are not seen on the soil surface under normal circumstances.
Length: 1/10 - 1/16 inches long.
Color: Dark brown.
Description: The pavement ant earns its name well, building nests beneath and along the sides of pavement: patios, driveways, sidewalks, foundations of homes. These pests can also be found inside of homes (and other structures) in wall voids, beneath toilets and water heaters. They also will readily nest in and beneath insulation in walls and attics. Outdoors, you will see pavement ants nesting beneath mulch, landscaping, stones and logs, and also along curbs.
Length: 1/16 - 3/32 inches long.
Color: Yellowish to red.
Description: Pharaoh ants nest in secluded spots and prefer temperatures between 80-86 degrees Fahrenheit. These ants are frequent house invaders; often found around kitchen and bathroom faucets where they obtains water. Pharaoh ants feed on sweets but prefer fatty foods. The ants also eat dead insects and prey on other insects. Pharaoh ants are more common in warmer climates.
Length: 1/8 inch long.
Color:
Description: The body has long coarse hairs. These ants are easily recognized by extremely long legs and antenna. Crazy ants get their name because they seem to run erratically with no apparent sense of direction. Crazy ants often nest in soil of potted tropical plants. It does not survive outdoors in northern climates, but can be a persistent pest when established indoors.
Length: 1/8 inch long.
Color: Brown to blackish.
Description: Acrobat ants often tunnel and nest in wood. They live in decaying tree stumps and can live in woodwork especially door or window frames. Acrobat ants may nest in wood already damaged by carpenter ants or termites. Nests are also found in foam insulation. Nest locations are often associated with moisture problems and water leaks. Acrobat ants feed on honeydew produced by aphids.
Length:
Tiny, usually less than 1/16-inch in length.
Color:
Pale, with a dark head and abdomen.
Description:
It occasionally is
found in apartments and greenhouses in northern states. These ants nest
outdoors under items on the ground, within landscape mulch, beneath loose
bark on trees, under ground cover, in potted plants, and within piles of
items such as lumber, firewood, or bricks. Nests may be readily established
inside homes in walls, beneath carpeting, and in other suitable voids or
spaces.
Length:
The species of most importance are about 1-inch long and have a robust,
bee-like shape.
Color:
Like bumblebees, carpenter bees are black with some yellow. One carpenter bee
species in the southwest, the valley carpenter bee, has a metallic-black
colored female and a tan colored male.
Description: Carpenter bees chew out tunnels in wood in which to lay their eggs and provide a protected site for their larvae to develop. The male carpenter bee guards the outside of the nest and tries to chase away potential predators. He does not have a stinger, but still causes concern with his aggressive buzzing if people venture near the nest site.
Length:
1/2-inch in length.
Color:
Golden-yellow in color with darker bands of brown.
Description: Honeybees are the only type of social bee that
establish perennial colonies that may survive a decade or longer. These bees
forage on pollen and nectar from flowering plants and use these materials to
produce the honey that will feed the colony through the winter months. These
swarms may be seen clustered on a tree branch, a fence, or a building as the
bees rest before flying off again to find a suitable nesting site. Because
hundreds of bees are part of this swarm, people are often concerned about
the possibility of the bees attacking. Usually, the bees in these swarms are
docile and non-aggressive unless vigorously disturbed.
Length:
Ranges up to 1 inch in length.
Color:
Usually black with yellow stripes on the thorax and abdomen.
Description: As social insects,
bumblebees live in colonies. Each spring a queen that has survived winter
will find a suitable nesting site and establish her colony. Her first brood
of eggs mature into workers that forage on pollen and nectar for food. The
workers do produce honey, but it is not edible to humans. The colony grows
larger over the summer and is usually discovered by a homeowner while
gardening or mowing the lawn. The bees will attack to defend their nest, so
they are considered a health concern. During the fall, the colony produces a
number of queens that fly out to find protected sites to spend the winter
and thus repeat the cycle next year.
Length: 1/4 - 1 inches long
Color: Common type is black but may have colored markings
Description: May damage carpets, woolens, furs and stored food.
Length:
About 1 inch in length.
Color: Bluish-black with white markings on its face, thorax and
abdomen.
Description: Bald-faced hornets are not true hornets at all;
they are aerial yellow jackets. This hornet constructs paper nests made from
wood harvested from logs and trees. The nest of the bald-faced hornet will
take on a football shape, growing larger with time. Some nests may measure
up to two feet in length and contain hundreds of worker wasps. The nests
last one year. Each year in the fall, a hornet nest produces numerous queens
that fly out to find a protected site (e.g., under loose bark) to over winter.
The following spring, each queen finds a suitable site in a tree or shrub to
begin constructing her nest. She forms a small paper nest inside in which
she builds a paper "comb" and raises her first brood of larvae. The workers
that emerge from that brood begin foraging for food, enlarging the nest,
caring for the young and defending the colony.
Length:
1 to 1-1/2 inches in length.
Color:
Golden brown with darker brown stripes and markings on its thorax and abdomen.
Description: European hornets
are social wasps which form colonies that live for one year. Each spring, an
over-wintering queen will find a suitable nesting site and construct a small
paper nest. Inside the nest, she builds a small paper comb in which she
raises her first brood of larvae. After these larvae mature into adults,
these worker wasps begin nest enlargement and food foraging for the colony.
The paper in the nest and the comb are made from bits of wood scraped from
logs, bark, and even the wood on decks and houses. Like bald-faced hornets
and yellow jackets, European hornets aggressively defend their colony if it
is disturbed. Loud vibrating noises, such as those from lawnmowers and leaf
blowers, can "set off" the hornet workers causing them to sting people and
pets. The colonies of European hornets may contain several hundred workers
by the end of the season.
Length: About 3/8 inch (10mm) long at rest; wing spread is about 5/8 inch (14mm).
Color: Bronze-colored wings.
Description: When at rest the wings are folded together along the line of the body. The front half of the forewings is a grayish-white color, and the lower half is a rusty red-brown color. The adult moths usually fly at night and lay eggs on food such as grain, dried food, and especially pet food. The Indian meal moth is one of the most common and troublesome of the moths infesting stored products. The caterpillar stage of this insect will feed on a variety of grains, meal, breakfast foods, dried nuts, seeds, chocolate, powdered milk, and especially dry pet foods. Infested material may be more or less webbed together. Small two-colored moths (gray and reddish-brown) will also be seen flying about the infested area.
Length:
Up to 2 inches long.
Color:
Reddish brown.
Description: The American cockroach is the largest cockroach
that infests homes and buildings in the United States. This insect may be
recognized by a yellow "figure-8" pattern on the shield at the front of its
body. In Florida, the American cockroach is called the "palmetto bug," and
it has the nickname "water bug" throughout the United States.
Length:
About 1/2-inch in length.
Color:
Brown.
Description: The German cockroach is the most prolific breeder
among all cockroaches. Each egg capsule can contain up to 40 eggs and
development from egg to adult can occur in as little as 45 days. Like all
cockroaches, it is omnivorous and will eat virtually anything people will
and many things we won't. In homes, this pest will first locate itself in
bathrooms and the kitchen, as close as possible to food and moisture
sources. It spends about 80 percent of its time resting in cracks and voids.
Length:
Both male and female are about one inch in length.
Color:
The female is all black, while the male has two brown wings.
Description: The female
oriental cockroach differs in appearance from the male which often leads
homeowners to believe they have two types of cockroaches. The female is
black, oval in shape, and has no wings -- only two small wing pads just
behind the thoracic "shield." The male is thinner in shape, about the same
length, and has two brown wings that extend partway down the abdomen. The
oriental cockroach is a pest in homes throughout much of the United States.
It is rarely seen in southeastern states, however. During the summer,
oriental cockroaches move outdoors where they may venture into neighboring
buildings. During the colder months, they reinvade homes, establishing
themselves in basements and crawl spaces.
Length:
Small, its body rarely exceeding two inches long and one ounce in weight.
Color:
Usually gray in color, but some may appear darker.
Description: Few people really like rats or mice, and no one
wants them in their house. Rodents live everywhere outside and could enter
at any time. Mice are excellent climbers and are capable of gaining entry
through holes around soffit vents and around cables entering the building,
through holes in gable vent screens, and through turbine and box vents on
roofs. Most garage doors on homes allow enough space for mice to fit
underneath, as well.
Length:
Body is up to two inches in length.
Color:
The top is light brown to red-brown and the feet and underbelly are pure
white.
Description: Unlike the house mouse, the deer mouse is not
found in cities but is associated more with rural areas and buildings
located in or near wooded areas. It does not commonly invade homes, but in
rare instances one or more deer mice may invade a particular building. The
deer mouse is a medically important species because it carries the
hantavirus. This virus can result in serious, often fatal, respiratory
disease in humans. Cases of hantavirus are rare -- only about 300-400 cases
have been documented in the past nine years, and most have been in the
Western United States.
Length: Larger rodents that may grow to a body length of 10 to 12 inches.
Color:
Can vary from gray to brown to black.
Description: Outside, rats live
in fields, wooded areas, vacant lots, farms, and just about anywhere people
have buildings. Rats are seldom a problem in homes except in urban and rural
areas. This is due in large part to their size, since rats need a hole about
the size of a quarter in order to gain entry into a building. Rats however,
may find harborage in many areas around the home - especially in stacked
firewood, stones and bricks, and piles of leaves or other debris.
Length:
Wolf spiders come in many sizes with most having a body size ranging from
1/4-inch to more than 1 1/2 inches in length. The largest species may have a
leg measuring up to 3 inches or more leading many homeowners to mistake them
for tarantulas.
Color:
Most wolf spiders are brown although some may appear black.
Description: Wolf spiders are active hunters which search for
prey during the day or night, depending on the species. These common spiders
may live in significant numbers around homes and other buildings, especially
those structures which have lush landscaping. Wolf spiders enter underneath
doors or through cracks in the exterior walls. Wolf spiders are unique in
that they carry their egg sacs from the tip of their abdomens attached to
the spinnerets. The young spiderlings also ride on the mother’s back for a
few days after hatching. Bites involving wolf spiders are rare and are not
dangerous.
Length: May
grow to have a body about 5/8-inch in length and a leg span of about one and
a half inches in diameter.
Color:
Usually light brown but may be darker in some specimens.
Description: Like most spiders, the brown recluse spider does
not seek to bite people. The bite is usually accidental. The spider crawls
into a shoe, into clothing or into a bed and a person then puts on the
clothing or lies on the spider in bed. The spider, being trapped, has only
one defense - and that is to bite. Unfortunately, the bite of this spider
produces a nasty result in people, such as open, ulcerating sores. Left
untreated, such bites often become infected and significant tissue necrosis
can occur. It is always best to seek medical attention, preferably from a
dermatologist, if you think you may have a spider bite. This is especially
true in areas where brown recluse spiders are common.
Length:
This is a large spider with a body up to one inch long or larger and a leg
span of up to three inches.
Color:
The garden spider’s color varies, but the most common species is black and
yellow.
Description: Garden spiders
spin very large, flat, orb-shaped webs across open spaces between tree and
shrub branches. The webs will be located along natural flight paths for
flying insects. This spider sits in the center of the web, head facing
downward, waiting for an unwary insect to fly into its web. The spider then
hurries to the insect, bites it to subdue it, wraps it tightly in silk, and
carries it like a prize to a more protected area of the web to feed on it
later. The garden spider begins repairing the web immediately to prepare for
its next flying prey.
Length:
Most species are about 1 inch in length, but a few may be as small as 1/2-inch
or as large as 1-1/2 inches.
Color:
Many are reddish-brown or dark red. Some species are more orange, while others
have varying bright stripes of red and yellow.
Description: The key to identifying paper wasps is the shape of
the nest - a round, upside-down paper comb that is attached by a single
stalk to a horizontal surface in a protected location. This paper nest
resembles an umbrella, lending to these wasps nickname, "umbrella wasps."
Paper wasps are predators and feed on insects, spiders, and caterpillars.
Most paper wasp colonies number only a few dozen workers, but under the
right conditions, a colony might produce more than 100 workers. In early
fall, the colony produces queens which fly out to find a site to over winter.
Length:
About 1/2 -to 1-inch in length.
Color:
Generally small wasps with black and yellow stripes.
Description: Yellow jackets are
social insects that live in colonies containing thousands of individuals.
These wasps will aggressively attack when their nest is disturbed, and can
inflict painful stings. Unlike the honeybee, which stings only one time and
then dies, a single yellow jacket can sting many times. Colonies located in
or near a home can pose a threat to the persons living in the house. When
this situation is discovered, the colony or colonies should be eliminated.
Because of the danger involved in treating these nests, only a professional
should attempt to treat them.
Length: 3/4 - 1 inches long
Color: Brown to black with wings and large hind legs
Description: Likes warm, damp, dark places. Active at night and
eats everything from rugs to drapes.
Length: 3/4 - 1 1/2 inches long
Color:
Description: Easily recognized by forceps-like tail. Feeds on
decaying organic matter and may damage tender vegetation.
Length: 1/32 - 1/16 inches long
Color: Brown to black with strong hind legs
Description: Lives on blood sucked from birds, animals and
humans. Can transmit typhoid fever and the plague.
Length: 1/64 - 1/32 inches long
Color: Varies in color from yellowish-green to bright red
Description: This tiny biting insect has a two-part body with 8
legs. It often infects animals, plants and stored food. Carries disease.
Length: 5 - 8 inches long
Color: The common mole is a small gray furry burrowing animal
Description: Its head has a long, tapering snout. Moles live
underground and seldom venture out of their burrows. Most active early
in the morning and late in the evening.
Length: 3/4 - 1 1/2 inches long
Color: Typically whitish in color.
Description: Comes in winged and non-winged forms. Winged forms
has four wings. Non-winged form prefers living in the dark.
Length: 1/16 - 1/8 inches long
Color: Dark or reddish brown.
Description: Leathery body with 8 legs. Feeds on blood and can
transmit serious diseases like Rocky Mountain spotted fever.