Insects
Bees and Wasps
Honey bees, paper wasps, yellow jackets and hornets all become pests when they build their nests under eaves, in attics, in shrubs or trees, and in void spaces of homes.
Bees (honey bees and bumblebees) feed on pollen and nectar which they obtain from plants. Wasps, including hornets yellow jackets and paper wasps, feed principally on other insects.
Black Ants
Black Carpenter Ants are relatively large. Known mostly by color, this type of ant also has 1 segment to its waist and a long abdomen containing lightly-colored dull hairs.
Though their name suggests otherwise, Carpenter ants do not eat wood and instead feed on plant juices and other insects. Black Carpenter Ants do bite and can spray formic acid, but they do not possess the ability to sting their prey.
Worker ants live to serve the queen of which only one can be present in any mature colony.
Centipedes and Millipedes
Centipedes and millipedes are not insects because they have more than six legs, but they are closely related invertebrates. When outdoors, these invertebrates are innocuous organisms, but they may be considered pests when they share living space with us. Both of these groups of invertebrates have long, segmented bodies with either one pair (centipedes) or two pairs (millipedes) of legs on each segment. Their food preferences vary greatly.
Crickets
Everyone knows the chirping of a cricket and what it can do to a night’s sleep.Crickets tend to enter homes as the nights get cooler in late summer. Once inside, they can live for months feeding on such diverse items as paper and rubber-backed carpeting.
Fire Ants
The bodies of fire ants, like all insect bodies, are divided into three sections: the head, the thorax, and the abdomen, with three pairs of legs and a pair of antennae.
Fire ants can be distinguished from other ants by their copper brown head and body with a darker abdomen.
The worker ants are blackish to reddish, and their size varies from 2mm to 6 mm (0.12 in to 0.24 in).These different sizes of the ants can all exist in the same nest.
Fleas
Fleas are small, laterally flattened, insects about 1/25″ to ¼” in length. Their hind legs are especially adapted for jumping. They can jump vertically 7″ to 8″. The stages of a flea lifecycle include an egg, larva, pupa and adult. Female fleas lay their eggs (unattached) on the host. The eggs easily drop from the host onto the ground, rugs, chairs and animal bedding. Flea larvae are small worm-like creatures, which feed on organic material including adult flea feces. The larva mature in about 7 to 14 days after which time they spin a silken cocoon covered in dust or sand in which they pupate. The larvae will develop into adults in about 1 week. However, they will not emerge from the cocoon until a stimulus, such as vibration from an animal or person walking, occurs. An adult flea can stay in this stage for many months without food.
Powder Post Beetles
While most wood borers have a large pro thorax, powder post beetles do not, making their heads more visible. In addition to this, their antennae have two-jointed clubs.
They are considered pests and attack deciduous, over time reducing the wood to a powdery dust.
The damage caused by longhorn beetles (family Cerambycidae) is often confused with that of powder post beetles, but the two groups are unrelated.
Their larvae are white and C-shaped.
Roaches
Cockroaches have a broad, flattened body and a relatively small head. They are generalized insects, with few special adaptations, and may be among the most primitive living neopteran insects. The mouth parts are on the underside of the head and include generalized chewing mandibles. They have large compound eyes, two ocelli, and long, flexible, antennae.
The first pair of wings are tough and protective, lying as a shield on top of the membranous hind wings. All four wings have branching longitudinal veins, and multiple cross-veins. The legs are sturdy, with large coxae and five claws each. The abdomen has ten segments and several cerci.
Silverfish
Silverfish are wingless insects that are ½” long when fully grown. They are covered with silvery scales and are flattened and somewhat cone shaped. Their antennae are long and slender. They have three long appendages located at the rear of the body.
Silverfish feed on paper, cotton, starch, rolled oats and a wide variety of other foods containing protein and carbohydrates.
Spiders
Are easily recognized by most people. They have eight legs and two body segments a cephalothorax (head and thorax combined) and an abdomen. Most species of spiders do not cause harm to people, but they do cause an unsightly mess with their webbing.
Spiders feed on insects and would be considered beneficial if it were not for their unsightly webbing
Sowbugs
Sowbugs are often described by homeowners as resembling “miniature armadillos.” Their oval-shaped bodies are segmented, many-legged, and bear two antennae. Because they are actually crustaceans (related to shrimp and lobsters), they need a very moist habitat to survive. They feed on decaying vegetation and hide under stones, boards, logs, or leaf mulch outside. Inside they will often be found in damp basements.
Termites
Termites feed on wood and serve an important function in nature by converting dead trees into organic matter. Unfortunately, the wood in buildings is equally appetizing to termites and they cause serious damage to residential and commercial buildings
Rodents
Mice, Rats
The house mouse (Mus musculus) is considered one of the most troublesome and economically important rodents in the United States. House mice thrive under a variety of conditions. They are found in and around homes and farms as well as in open fields and agricultural lands. House mice consume and contaminate food meant for humans, livestock, or other animals. They cause damage to structures and property, and they transmit diseases such as salmonellosis and swine dysentery
Animals, Birds and “Varmints”
Many bird species have established breeding populations in areas to which they have been introduced by humans.
Some of these introductions have been deliberate; the ring necked pheasant, for example, has been introduced around the world as a game bird. Others have been accidental, such as the establishment of wild Monk Parakeets in several North American cities after their escape from captivity.
Some species, including Cattle Egret, Yellow headed Caracara and Galah have spread naturally far beyond their original ranges as Agriculture practice created suitable new habitat.
Squirrels
Squirrels are generally small animals, ranging in size from the African pygmy squirrel, at 7–10 cm (2.8–3.9 in) in length, and just 10 g (0.35 oz) in weight, to the Alpine marmot, which is 53–73 cm (21–29 in) long, and weighs from 5 to 8 kg (11 to 18 lb).
Squirrels typically have slender bodies with bushy tails and large eyes. Their fur is generally soft and silky, although much thicker in some species than others. The color of squirrels is highly variable between – and often even within – species.
Reptiles
Snakes
Cobras, vipers, and closely related species use venom to immobilize or kill their prey. The venom is modified saliva, delivered through fangs. The fangs of ‘advanced’ venomous snakes like viperids and elapids are hollow to inject venom more effectively, while the fangs of rear-fanged snakes such as the boomslang merely have a groove on the posterior edge to channel venom into the wound. Snake venoms are often prey specific, their role in self-defense is secondary. Venom, like all salivary secretions, is a pre-digestant that initiates the breakdown of food into soluble compounds, facilitating proper digestion. Even nonvenomous snake bites (like any animal bite) will cause tissue damage.