Learn about some of the more common household pests and use these pictures to help identify ones that may be infesting your home. Select Pest Control can provide an onsite inspection and advise you on what needs to be done to eliminate a pest infestation. On top of that, we give information about how to prevent them from returning. Scroll down to learn more.
Size: Up to 5/8-inch long.
Color: Varies from black, brown and black, red and black, to light brown depending on the species.
Behavior: Carpenter ants feed on a wide variety of foods, especially other insects. The favored food of adults is the sweet honeydew produced by plant-feeding insects, such as aphids, scales, and mealybugs. In the spring, mature colonies produce winged reproductive ants, called swarmers, that fly out to start new colonies. These swarms often occur from satellite colonies within homes, so homeowners may see large flying ants in their homes at night. Carpenter ants can be very difficult to control, so most homeowners employ the services of a professional company such as Select Pest Control.
Habitat: Carpenter ants are the most common pest ant seen in homes throughout the northern United States. Control – Successful control of carpenter ants often requires skill, knowledge and experience. A Select Pest Control professional may use carpenter ant baits or may recommend a schedule for pest control service to prevent future infestations.
Tips: Keep firewood and wood piles away from your home. Make sure that plumbing or other water leaks are sealed, and check crawl space for excessive moisture. Remove dead tree limbs and tree stumps to get rid of potential nesting sites.
Size: About 1/8-inch long.
Color: Brown. If smashed, the workers give off a rotten odor, hence their name.
Behavior: Odorous house ants may develop large colonies containing thousands of workers and several queens. This species can be hard to control and is not controlled by ant baits. The way to control these are to find the colonies and treat them directly. Regular inspection and service are necessary to locate and treat new colonies as they move in. The services of a Select Pest Control professional, are very helpful when encountering these type of ants.
Habitat: These ants nest outdoors, within landscape mulch, under loose tree bark, in potted plants, and within piles of items, such as firewood, lumber, rock or brick. They may also be found nested in walls or beneath carpeting.
Control: Baits may be attempted, however it is very unlikely that this method will control the problem. A Select Pest Control professional can locate the colony and treat it directly.
Tips: Eliminate firewood, lumber, rock, brick, and other items that could serve as a nesting site. Keep landscape mulch less than 2 inches thick and at least 12 inches away from foundations. If you have a sprinkler system, ensure that it does not spray directly on the foundation of your home. Seal any exterior cracks in your home/foundation.
Size: About 1/8-inch long.
Color: Brown. The name is derived from it nesting in soil beneath concrete slabs, sidewalks, porch, and driveways.
Behavior: Colonies can be controlled using ant baits, however perimeter inspection and treatment are sometimes necessary. Habitat: Under the foundation and within hollow block walls. Occasionally, a colony may move dirt up into a wall to form a nest. When piles of soil or dirt appear from under baseboards or on top of a basement or garage floor, it is an indication that pavement ants may be present.
Control: A Select Pest Control professional can successfully treat for these types of ants.
Tips: Seal cracks and voids in the exterior of your home to prevent ants from entering. Keep vegetation cut away from the foundation of your home. Avoid using items such as stones and landscape timbers next to your home’s foundation. Keep layers of mulch in landscape beds less than 2 inches thick and at least 12 inches away from the foundation.
Size: Up to 1 inch in length.
Black with yellow stripes. Bumblebees are often known by the hairy abdomen.
Risk: The Bumble Bee is a stinging insect. Many humans have a severe allergic reaction to bee venoms.
Behavior: The bees will attack to defend their nest, so with this in mind, a health concern is justified.
Habitat: Bumblebees will reside in rodent burrows, or other holes in the ground. Sometimes, these bees will establish a nest above ground in a wood pile, shed or similar location.
Control: Please contact a professional for treatment if a nest is found in or around your home.
Tips: To prevent bees from establishing nests in your lawn, fill in all rodent holes and burrows that you may find. Seal any holes in the exterior of your home or building.
Size: Approximately 1-inch long and have a large, bee-like shape.
Color: Carpenter Bees are black and yellow. Carpenter bees resemble bumblebees in both size and color, however the Carpenter Bee has a shiny black abdomen with little hair.
Behavior: The male carpenter bee guards the outside of the a nest and will attempt to chase away potential predators. He does not have a stinger, however will still cause intimidation with his aggressive buzzing behavior.
Habitat: Logs, dead trees and limbs as well as bare wood decks, window sills, and fences.
Control: If holes are found in wood which are believed to nests for these bees, contact a professional for treatment.
Tips: Keep wood around your house and deck painted.
Size: 1 to 1-1/2 inches.
Color: Gold with dark brown stripes and markings.
Health Risk: Hornets are aggressive stinging insects and will attack pets and humans en masse. Many people are dangerously allergic to their venom, sometimes resulting in death.
Behavior: These social wasps build paper nests constructed usually from wood scraped from logs, decks and houses. Loud vibrating equipment such as lawn mowers can disturb the hornet and cause them to attack.
Habitat: Constructs paper nests usually in trees and large bushes.
Control: Hornets should only be controlled by an experienced professional. The danger of a sting is probable. Proper clothing and equipment will be required. Please contact Select Pest Control to remove any nests you find near your house or where pets and children play.
Tips: Stay away! and notify a professional.
Size: About 1 inch in length, some however may be as small as 1/2-inch or as large as 1-1/2 inches.
Color: Many are reddish-brown or dark red. however other will have bright stripes of red and yellow.
Health Risk: Wasps are stinging insects and will aggressively defend their nests. Many humans are dangerously allergic to wasp venom.
Behavior: This wasp makes a round paper nest attached by a single stalk to a horizontal surface.
Habitat: Nests are commonly found in attic vents, corners of door and windows, under decks and in soffit.
Control: Paper wasp nests are usually easily controlled using a wasp spray or by contacting a professional such as Select Pest Control.
Tips: Treatment is safer if done at night, however a professional can safely treat them during the day.
Size: 1/2 inch to 1 inch. These wasps are long and slender with a narrow, thread-like waist.
Color: Black or sometimes steel blue in color. Sometimes with darker brown markings.
Health Risk: Mud Daubers are basically non-aggressive and beneficial insects. However, should they be disturbed, they are stinging insects and their venom can be dangerous to people with certain allergies.
Behavior: Mud daubers are solitary wasps that construct small nests of mud in or around homes, sheds, and barns and under open structures, bridges and similar sites. This wasp group is named for the nests that are made from mud collected by the females. Mud is rolled into a ball, carried to the nest and molded into place with the wasp’s mandibles in the shape of cylindrical tubes resembling pipe-organ pipes.
Control: Control of these insects is not warranted since they normally pose little threat. Rather, mud daubers should be regarded as beneficial, since they remove and use as prey many species of spiders which most people find disagreeable. The mud nests can be scraped off and discarded at night if they are objectionable, or wasp and hornet aerosol sprays can be used to treat nests if desired.
Size: 3/4-to 1-inch.
Color: Small wasps with black and yellow stripes.
Health Risk: See Behavior
Behavior: Yellow jackets will aggressively attack when their nest is disturbed, and can inflict a very painful sting. Unlike the honeybee, which can sting only once before dying, a yellow jacket can sting multiple times. Yellow Jackets can pose a health risk if found near your home. If this is discovered, please do not attempt treatment. Contact a professional such as Select Pest Control.
Habitat: Yellow jackets usually locate their nests in the ground. They may have nests located in a crack or hole in a building. Control: Contact a professional such as Select Pest Control.
Tips: When working outside, be aware of more than one wasp flying into or away from a single location. This usually indicates a nest is near. Be careful when using power equipment such as mowers, trimmers and edgers. This equipment will disturb a yellow jacket nest and cause to attack. If you find a nest, STAY AWAY.
Size: 1/2-inch in length.
Color: Yellow with dark bands of brown. Most everyone recognizes the honeybee common to any flowering garden.
Health Risk: Although the common Honey Bee is not especially aggressive when left alone, they will defend their nests en masse. Many humans are dangerously allergic to bee venom.
Behavior: These bees may be seen clustered on a fence, tree limb, or a building, during a rest before flying off to find a nesting site. Because several hundred bees are usually part of this type of swarm, people are often concerned about the chance of the bees attacking. Normally, the bees in these swarms are nonaggressive unless disturbed.
Habitat: Honeybees usually nest inside voids within trees, they will also nest within caves and cracks in rocks. It is possible to find a nest in an attic or similar residential location.
Control: Because the Africanized honeybee (Killer Bee) cannot be distinguished from the standard Honeybee without detailed scientific inspection, removal should be performed by experts such as Select Pest Control.
Tips: All honeybee nests or swarms found should be respected at a safe distance. Never attempt to treat a nest of Honeybee’s without the proper training and equipment. If a nest has been removed from within a residence, or outbuilding, the honeycomb will need to be removed. If not, the honey will rot, producing a strong odor.
Size: Around 2 inches.
Color: Most are brown.
Behavior: Centipedes live in moist areas and have 1 set of legs per body segment. They are not common inside homes, however it is possible to have infestation especially if you have a basement or crawl space.
Habitat: Mostly outdoors, centipedes stay in moist, covered areas such as mulch and beneath rocks. If found indoors, they may be seen near baseboards or around doorways and windows.
Tips for Control: Seal cracks and holes in your exterior of your home. Mulch should be kept away from the foundation. House centipedes may require treatment by a professional services company such as Select Pest Control.
Size: Usually around 2 inches or less in length.
Color: Brown or black.
Behavior: Millipedes usually reside in moist vegetation, leaf piles and mulch beds. They feed on organic matter found in these areas. Millipedes are different from centipedes in that they have two pairs of legs per body segment. They are not common inside homes, however it is possible to have infestation especially if you have a basement or crawl space.
Habitat: Mostly outdoors, centipedes stay in moist, covered areas such as mulch and beneath rocks. If found indoors, they may be seen near baseboards or around doorways and windows.
Tips for Control: Seal cracks and holes in your exterior of your home. Mulch should be kept away from the foundation.
Size: Usually 1/2-inch to 1 inch in length.
Color: Usually a shiny gray or silver. They have three characteristic long thin appendages extending from the rear of the abdomen.
Behavior: Silverfish feed on fungus, mold and organic matter. They will damage fabrics, paper and books.
Habitat: Silverfish live in cracks and holes and are commonly found in larger numbers in attics, basements, and crawl spaces. Silverfish will be seen occasionally in kitchens and bathrooms.
Tips & Control: Silverfish can be very difficult to control, homes that have attics which have blown-in insulation, this prevents a professional from venturing into the attic to look for silverfish infestation. A professional should be contacted when silverfish are a problem.
Areas that might require treatment are: Spaces where plumbing is located. Holes behind electrical outlets. Molding around windows and doors. An attic, basement or crawl space. Soffits.
Size: Up to 2 inches long.
Color: Reddish brown.
The American cockroach is the largest cockroach in the US. Behavior – Like all cockroaches, it is an omnivore and will eat virtually anything. This cockroach likes a warm, damp environment, such as a basements or crawl space.
Control: The key to control is to locate and treat the source directly. In most cases, the services of a professional company, such as Select Pest Control, are required to achieve satisfactory elimination.
Size: Approximately 1/2-inch in length.
Color: Brown.
The German cockroach is the most avid 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 an omnivore and will eat virtually anything.
Habitat: In homes, this cockroach will be found in bathrooms and the kitchen. Close to to food and sources of moisture. It spends the majority of its time resting in cracks.
Control: This species of cockroach can only be controlled using persistence and experience.
Size: About 1 inch in length.
Color: The female is all black, the male has brown wings. The female is black, oval in shape, and has no wings. The male is thin, about the same length, and has brown wings.
Behavior: During the colder months, they invade homes, in basements and crawl spaces.
Habitat: This cockroach will usually enter buildings through floor drains. It will also live outdoors in firewood, leaf piles, outbuildings or similar locations.
Tips for Control: Sealing cracks in a building’s exterior will help prevent these pests from entering. Install screening in all vents.
Size: 1/2-inch to 1 inch in length.
Color: Reddish brown to dark brown. Females do not have fully developed wings, the wings are much smaller.
Behavior: These live primarily outdoors and are considered a nuisance pest. It does not breed inside homes. Adult males usually mature around June and July and are active at night. They are good fliers and will fly into porch lights and may crawl inside.
Habitat: They live in leaf piles, firewood stacks and similar outdoor locations. Homes located on wooded lots may be more likely to encounters problems with these cockroaches.
Tips for Control: Changing outdoor lights to yellow “bug” lights can help reduce the number of roaches attracted to a home. Or simply keep lights turned off.
Size: Small, its body rarely exceeding two inches long and one ounce in weight.
Color: Usually gray in color, but some may appear darker. Mice are common in urban and suburban communities.
Health Risk: Wild mice are normally carriers of fleas. Droppings can foster bacteria that are harmful to humans.
Behavior: Usually, most invasions occur in the fall, because the seeds and plants on which they fee outside are gone. They enter your home in search of food.. Mice can enter through holes around roof vents, cables screens and garage doors.
Habitat: Mice are found in outbuildings usually because they are smaller and are able to find more available entryways. Mice can fit through a crack or hole 1/4 of an inch or larger – or about the width of a pencil.
Control: Several different style of traps are available. A professional will be happy to go over the best control options for you.
Tips: Seal any holes or cracks Install a quality weatherstrip at the bottom of doors to prevent them from entering. Seal off holes and cracks in the exterior of your home or building.
Size: Grow to a body length of 10 to 12 inches.
Color: Brown or black. Rats are more common in urban and rural areas, and are found in homes less often than mice because of their larger size. Rats are more common in urban and rural communities.
Health Risk: Rats are normally infested with fleas. Rat feces can contain bacteria that is harmful to humans and house pets. Rats are also know to be subject to rabies and, when infected, can become aggressive and offensive against pets and humans. A bite from a rat is guaranteed to become seriously infected.
Behavior: Usually, most invasions occur in the fall, because the seeds and plants on which they fee outside are gone. They enter your home in search of food.. Rats can climb very well and can enter through holes around roof vents, cables screens and garage doors.
Habitat: Rats are found in outbuildings usually because they are smaller and are able to find more available entryways.
Control: Several different style of traps are available. A professional will be happy to go over the best control options for you.
Tips: Seal any holes or cracks Seal off holes and cracks in the exterior of your home or building.
Size: Up to 3/4-inch in length and up to 3/8-inch in diameter.
Color: Usually gloss black but may also be dark brown to light brown. Other widow spiders may be brown. The red markings on the underside of the abdomen usually connect to form an hourglass shape, but this DOES NOT ALWAYS occur.
Health Risk: The black widow spider is feared because its bite results in severe pain that may take numerous days to subside. Such bites are in rare cases fatal, however small children and the elderly are at risk.
Behavior: Black Widow spiders construct irregular sized, scaffold type webs usually near the ground. These webs are almost always constructed in a protected area such as under boards, in firewood, and between boxes. This spiders bite can cause severe pain and cramping throughout the body for days. Bites usually occur when people are picking up an item with which the spider is hiding under or putting on a shoe the spider has crawled inside of.
Control: Control is best left to a professional company such as Select Pest Control
Tips: Bites can be avoided by wearing heavy gloves when moving items stored outside, in garages or basements. Shoes should be stored inside shoeboxes or vigorously shaken prior to wearing. When a web is visible, look carefully before putting your hand under an object.
Size: About 5/8-inches in length and a leg span of about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
Color: Usually light brown but may be darker. The key to identifying this spider are the six eyes arranged in three pairs at the front of the head area and the fiddle-shaped marking on the back. The brown recluse spider is often referred to as a “violin” spider or a “fiddleback” spider because of the fiddle shaped marking on its top.
Health Risk: The bite of this spider can produce an open, ulcerating sore. Left untreated, such bites often become infected.
Behavior: The brown recluse spider does not look for people to bite. The bite is usually accidental by crawling into a shoe, bed or other article of clothing. The spider, has only one defense – biting.
Habitat: Any corner inside or outside is suitable for brown recluse spiders to construct their webs. These spiders are common in garages, and basements.
Control: Seek the help of a professional such as Select Pest Control.
Tips: Clothing can be stored in sealed plastic before hanging in closets for storage. Shoes should be kept sealed in a shoebox. Clothes that have been left on the floor or in a clothes basket should be shaken before worn. Beds should be moved out so they don’t touch walls or drapes. Bed skirts around the box springs should be removed from beds, and bedspreads that come near or touch the floor should not be used. These items allow spiders easy access to climb onto the bed.
Size: Their colonies are made up of three castes – workers, soldiers, and the king and queen. The workers are the ones chewing through your wood. The soldiers are about ¼ inch long and are there to protect the colony from intruders. Queens and kings are about 3/8 to a half inch long. You may also see swarmers in spring and summer – they are the ones with wings that are creating a new colony.
Color: Workers are cream colored while queens and kinds are black or dark brown.
Behavior: Termites feed upon old roots, tree stumps, fallen tree limbs and branches on the ground, and similar materials. They are beneficial when they aid in reduction of wood and similar cellulose products into compounds that can be used again by other living organisms. Occasionally termites attack living plants, including the roots of shrubs and trees. In buildings, they feed on cellulose materials, such as structural wood, wood fixtures, paper, books, cotton, and related products. For homes and businesses, property damage from termites exceeds $5 billion per year in just the U.S. alone. Interior damage may not become apparent until infestations are full-blown. Termite damage sometimes appears similar to water damage. Outward signs of termite damage include buckling wood, swollen floors and ceilings, areas that appear to be suffering from slight water damage, and visible mazes within walls or furniture. Termite infestations also can exude a scent similar to mildew or mold.
Habitat: Most termite infestations occur in the basement or cellar areas and in the structural timbers immediately above the cellar walls, such as the mudsills, studs, joists, subflooring, and floors. Wooden posts, steps, door frames, and trim embedded in an earth or concrete floor are especially susceptible to termite infestation. Wood siding, window frames, steps, and similar materials covered by earth or resting on the ground may also be attacked by termites. Where the termite infestation is extensive, the flooring and framework in the walls can be damaged by termites. This usually happens where houses are built on concrete slabs. Termites especially favor areas around furnaces, chimneys, hot water heaters, and hot water pipes that provide warmth during cold months.
Control: Identification is key. Winged termites are often confused with winged ants. Most species of ants in the house are only nuisances with the exception of carpenter ants which can damage wood. For this reason, it’s especially important to know the differences between winged termites and winged ants. The easiest way to distinguish the two groups is to look at their waists. An ant has a narrow, wasp-like waist; a termite has a broad waist. The antennae or feelers of ants are L-shaped, whereas those of termites are straight. Furthermore, the four wings of termites are of equal length and nearly twice as long as the termite body, while ant wings are approximately equal to the length of the ant, and the fore and hind wings are of unequal length. Once identified, treatments should be left to professionals. There are no DIY termite control methods and the damage they can do can be extensive. This is not the time to wait and see what happens.
Tips: Our favorite tip? Call in a pro to not just perform professional termite treatments, but to install termite baits to catch them at their earliest introduction.
Size: 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch.
Color: Adults are reddish-brown, oval, and appear flattened.
Signs: They have microscopic hairs that give them a banded appearance. Newly hatched nymphs are translucent, lighter in color and become browner as they reach maturity. In most observed cases, bites consist of a raised red bump or flat welt, and are often accompanied by intense itching. Bedbug bites may appear indistinguishable from mosquito bites, though they tend to last for longer periods.
Behavior: The bed bug pierces the skin of its host with two hollow tubes. With one tube it injects its saliva, which contains anticoagulants and anesthetics, while with the other it withdraws the blood of its host. After feeding for about five minutes, the bug returns to its hiding place. The bites cannot usually be felt until some minutes or hours later, as a dermatological reaction to the injected agents, and the first indication of a bite usually comes from the desire to scratch the bite site. Because of their dislike for sunlight, bedbugs come out at night.
Habitat: Mattress seams, sheets, under baseboards, wall outlet covers, picture frames, cracks and crevices. It is often a mistaken notion that filth attracts them. Bedbugs are attracted by exhaled carbon dioxide and body heat, not by dirt, and they feed on blood, not waste. In short, the cleanliness of their environment does has some effect on the control of bedbugs but… unlike cockroaches, does not have a direct effect on bedbugs because they feed on YOU and not on waste.
Control: It is often a mistaken notion that filth attracts them. Bedbugs are attracted by exhaled carbon dioxide and body heat, not by dirt, and they feed on blood, not waste. In short, the cleanliness of their environment does has some effect on the control of bedbugs but… unlike cockroaches, does not have a direct effect on bedbugs because they feed on YOU and not on waste. Home remedies may give limited and temporary relief but bed bugs will continue breeding and you will have a much bigger problem within weeks. Bug bombs and aerosol pesticides will not rid an area of bed bugs. Select Pest Control has the expertise, training and equipment needed to get the job done safely, correctly and effectively.
Size: Usually 1-1/2 inches in length.
Color: Black or brown. Crickets are usually thick and square in shape with enlarged back legs.
Behavior: Crickets generally live and breed outdoors and occupy garages and buildings in search of food and shelter. They are attracted by bright light.
Habitat: The usual home of a cricket is a field or wooded area. Near homes, they may be found near vegetation, under wood, rock and other similar items.
Tips & Control: Store firewood away from your house. Clean up leaf piles lying close to your home. Install yellow bug lights. Seal exterior cracks and holes.
Northern Kentucky
(859) 525-6515
454 Commonwealth Ave.
Erlanger, Kentucky 41018
Cincinnati-Loveland-Mason-Lebanon
(513) 352-0080
1418 Walnut Street
Cincinnati Ohio 45202
Middletown
(513) 841-2847
733B South Second Street Hamilton,
Ohio 45011
Eastgate
(513) 734-2660
300 Wards Corner
Loveland, Ohio 45140
West Chester
(513) 777-6480
10851 Reading Road, Cincinnati,
Ohio 45241
