Pest History
This tiny household pest has existed for over 400 million years, making it older than the dinosaurs.
Silverfish
Only the females of this insect bite because they need extra protein to produce eggs.
Mosquito
I'm famous for my incredible jumping ability.
I don't use a web to catch prey.
I have some of the best eyesight in the arthropod world.
Jumping Spider
This insect is responsible for billions of dollars in structural damage every year.
Termites
Without this tiny pollinator, chocolate would be nearly impossible to produce because cacao flowers depend on it.
Biting Midge
You discover tiny, perfectly round holes in your favorite wool sweater.
Carpet Beetle
Ancient Egyptians encouraged this animal to protect grain stores from one of history's most destructive food thieves.
Cats
This insect can lift roughly 50 times its own body weight, making it one of the strongest animals on Earth for its size.
Dung Beetle
I hide during the day.
I leave behind tiny pepper-like droppings.
I'm one of the most common pests found in apartment buildings.
German Cockroach
This tiny invader is notorious for infesting pantries by laying eggs inside flour, cereal, rice, and pasta.
Indianmeal Moth
This insect spends either 13 or 17 years underground before emerging all at once.
Periodical Cicada
You notice long, raised mud tubes climbing the outside of your home's foundation.
Subterranean Termites
Ancient Romans burned sulfur in homes to help control these tiny blood-feeding pests.
Fleas
This colorful predator has nearly 360-degree vision and catches prey while flying.
Dragonfly
I prefer wool, feathers, leather, and fur.
My babies do the damage.
The adults mostly feed on pollen outdoors.
Carpet Beetle
This stinging insect builds paper-like nests under eaves, decks, and rooflines.
Paper Wasp
This "living fossil" has existed for more than 300 million years and can survive underwater for several minutes by trapping air around its body.
Cockroach
Every morning you wake up with several itchy bites in a row after staying at a hotel.
Bed Bugs
This wood-destroying insect has existed for more than 120 million years and was building colonies before flowering plants became widespread.
Termites
These social insects communicate using pheromone "highways" that help thousands of colony members locate food.
Ants
I'm often mistaken for a tick.
I'm bright red.
I invade homes by the thousands every spring but don't bite people.
Clover Mite
These tiny hitchhikers often arrive on firewood and are considered one of the most destructive invasive insects in North America.
Emerald Ash Borer
Although many people fear them, these nocturnal mammals can consume thousands of mosquitoes in a single night.
Bats
Small piles of coarse, sawdust-like material are collecting beneath tiny holes in a wooden cabinet.
Drywood Termites
This invasive insect, first discovered in the United States in 1996, earned its nickname because it was first found emerging from solid wood packing materials shipped from Asia. Today, it threatens dozens of hardwood tree species across North America.
Asian Longhorned Beetle
What pest caused one of the first federally funded eradication programs in U.S. history because it devastated the cattle industry?
Cattle Fever Tick
I'm often mistaken for a mosquito.
I have extremely long legs.
I don't bite people.
In my adult stage, I rarely eat at all.
Crane Fly or Mosquito Hawk
Homeowners often mistake the tiny piles left behind by this pest for sawdust, but they're actually tiny six-sided droppings pushed out of kick-out holes as the colony tunnels through dry wood.
Drywood Termites
This insect has taste receptors on its feet, allowing it to "taste" a surface the moment it lands.
Butterfly
You find dozens of perfectly round, half-inch holes appearing overnight across your lawn. The grass itself is still healthy, but the soil has been disturbed by small mounds.
Cicada Killer Wasps