Pest Identification

Ants

Common Black Ants

Common Black Ants are very small and black, two nodes, with workers all one size. Found throughout the U.S. Common Black Ants are one of the more common house-infesting ants. They nest in wall voids and under carpets. They sometimes build their nests under rocks, logs, debris, and forage to indoor sources along baseboards and carpet edges. They favor sweets, fats and oils.

Carpenter Ants

Behavior:

• Build their nests in wood
Deposit wood outside the colony’s nest, but they do NOT eat the wood
• Each colony contains one queen
She starts the nest in a wood cavity where she raises her first set of workers
• Population grows very rapidly
Can produce 2,000 or more workers
• Workers gather food for the next generation
Once the next generation of workers come, the first set of workers job is to increase food supply for the colony
• They are nocturnal
• They are social insects
• They swarm and mate in spring
Swarming takes palce when a colony contains 3,000 or more ants (after about three to six years)
A new colony is started by a single queen
• Carpenter ants found in the house during winter may indicate a nest somewhere in the house

Bedbugs

Behavior:

• Do not fly
• Can move quickly over floors, walls, and ceilings
• Females can lay hundreds of eggs in a lifetime
Eggs hatch within 7-10 days of being laid
Eggs are the size of a speck of dust
• Equal opportunity bugs
They do not care if an individual is clean or dirty, light skinned or dark skinned
• They are attracted to warmth, blood and the carbon dioxide that we exhale
• Expert stowaways
• Coy and elusive
• Can be picked up from anywhere
• They are nocturnal, but will feed int he light if need be
• Can survive several months without a blood meal
• Inactive between blood meals and will hide in secretive resting places
• They are not limited to beds and bedrooms
• They tend to live in groups

What Bed Bugs Look Like:

• Eggs are pearly white
• They are almost translucent
The older they get, the more brownish they become
• After having a blood meal, they will become bright red
• Small oval shaped bodies
• Flat bodies

What Bed Bugs Eat:

• Blood

Where Bed Bugs Live:

• Found anywhere where humans or other warm blooded animals are

How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs:

• Call a professional
Getting rid of bed bugs is not a “Do-It-Yourself” project!!!
• Clean clothes, bedding, linens, and curtains in hot water and dry them on highest dryer setting
• Use a stiff brush to scrub eggs off your mattress
• Vacuum the bed
• Get rid of clutter around the bed
Clutter creates more hiding places for the bed bugs
• Repair cracks around the house

How to Prevent Bed Bugs:

• Know the signs of bed bug infestation:
  They leave brown trails from their feces
  They will leave a red mark if squished
  They leave bug shells that are a whitish color due to growing
  They leave a sickly sweet smell
  You wake up with bite marks that were not there when you went to sleep
• Change and clean bed linens often
• When traveling, inspect hotel rooms
  Keep bags away from furniture, carpet and walls
  Best place would be on a table or in the bathroom
  When coming back from vacation, inspect the luggage
  Bring back clothes in a plastic bag then immediately wash them in high heat water
• Examine used furniture before bringing it home
• Examine and wash new clothes before putting them away
• Keep bags and other things off the floor
• De-clutter your home
• Do not ignore the signs of bed bugs, they can be easily detected
• Sleeping in a different room will only spread the infestation
• Bed bugs are seeking your blood, not the bed
• Bed bugs will find you by the carbon dioxide you exhale

Consequences of Infestation:

• They do bite
• If your veins are easily accessible and they are not disturbed while feeding, they will only bite a couple of times
• If you keep moving, they have to start the feeding process over again causing more bites
• They inject an anticoagulant which prevents blood from clotting, which is what causes bites to be red, itchy and inflamed
• As they suck your blood, their saliva acts as an anesthetic agent so you don’t feel the bite
• Most bites have a linear or cluster pattern
• Bed bugs tend to go to the same feeding area night after night
• Most individuals will not have a reaction unless they have an allergic reaction to the bite
• An allergic reacation can cause a rash on the infected areas of the skin
• On rare occasions, an allergic reaction can cause nausea, sickness, and shock
• Bed bugs do NOT transmit diseases
• Bed bugs can have psychological affects on people, such as anxiety and an inability to sleep

Cockroaches

Roaches are known to inhabit moist areas, but can survive in dry areas if they have access to water. They prefer warm temperatures around 84 degrees Fahrenheit and do not tolerate cold temperatures. In residential areas cockroaches live in basements and sewers, and may move outdoors into yards during warm months. Commonly the cockroach is found in basements, crawl spaces, cracks and crevices of porches, foundations, walkways, trash piles, and within the living spaces of your home.

American Cockroach

Size: Up to 2 inches long.
Color: Reddish brown
General Information: It’s the largest cockroach that infests homes and buildings in the U.S. It’s nicknamed the ‘Water Bug.’ It thrives in warm dark and damp places.

Asian Cockroach

Size: ½ inches in length.
Color: Tan brown-looks identical to the German cockroach.
General Information: Lives predominantly outdoors. It however can be seen flying towards a television or other light source.

Brown Banded Cockroach

Size: ½ inches in length.
Color: Light brown The female may have dark brown wings. Both sexes however have the lighter-colored bands running across the wings directly behind the prothorax.
General Information: This species prefers to spend much of its time resting in cracks and voids. Most of its activity occurs at night. They can be found in bathrooms and kitchens. However they can also be found in dryer areas such as bedrooms, living rooms, closets, bookcases, etc…

German Roach

Behavior:

• Able to conceal themselves in inaccessible areas
• Stay close to each other
• Avoid light
• If they are seen during the day, then their population within the area is bigger than it may seem
• Travel along edges of walls
• Prefer to hide five feet or less from food and a water source
• Can survive 12 days without food and water
• Relatively active
• Pass through very small openings
• Mostly active at night
• Hide during the day in narrow spaces
• Explore for food and water three hours before dusk and again one hour before dawn
• They are constantly seeking food, water and shelter
• Females produce four to eight eggs capsules in a lifetime
• Females lay an egg capsule every 20-25 days, there are 30-50 eggs in each capsule
• Largest number of eggs per capsule than other cockroach species
• Shortest period from hatch to maturity
• Build up population quickly
• Aggregation pheromones associated with their droppings

What German Roaches Look Like:

• Tan to light brown
• Head shield has two dark stripes that run length wise from head to wings
• Adults are fully winged, but barely fly
• About 1/2 – 5/8 inch in length

What German Roaches Eat:

• Anything they can find
• Sweet and starchy foods
• Non-organic items like toothpaste and paper
• Meat and fish (especially oily and greasy ones)
• Feed from plant sources
• Feed on dead bodies of other animals and insects
• Sometimes the legs and other body parts of fellow cockroaches

Where German Roaches Live:

• Throughout the world in buildings
• Prefer warm and moist habitats
• Common pests of kitchens and bathrooms
• Beneath appliances in crevices and cracks
• Behind baseboard moldings, behind pictures and clocks
• Closets or pantries
• In and under stoves
• Refrigerators and dishwashers

How to Get Rid of German Roaches:

• Call a professional
• Eliminate sources of water
• Get rid of potential food sources
• Tightly seal any open food
• Dispose of food properly
• Vacuum regularly
• Clean outside area where they are coming inside the hosue

Ways to Prevent German Roaches:

• Sanitation and exclusion
• Clean up, dry up, seal up
• Immediately repair water leaks
• Keep human and pet foods sealed in hard plastic or metal containers

Consequences of Infestation:

• They transfer pathogens that can cause allergic reactions
• Psychological distress
• Bites on the body
• Chewing of human eyebrows
• Feeding on body sores or eye mucos
• Can carry salmonella
• Contaminate food which can cause food poisoning
• Diseases they can carry:
  Staphylococcus (staph disease)
  E. Coli
  Roundworms
  Pinworms
  Tapeworms
  Shigella (affects intestine)

Oriental Cockroach

Size: One inch in length.
Color: Female is dark black while the male has two brown wings.
General Information: The female differs in appearance from the male which leads homeowners to believe that they have two different types of roaches. The oriental cockroach is a pest in homes throughout much of the U.S. During the summer, they move outdoors where they may venture into neighboring buildings. During the colder months, they re-infest homes, establishing themselves in basements and crawl spaces. Eliminating potential harborages outside is a must for pest control. Seal cracks, install screens on ventilation openings, and remove trash or debris from the perimeter of the home.

Smoky Brown Cockroach

Size: 1 ½ inches in length.
Color: Dark mahogany brown.
General Information: A ready flier that easily travels from trees to houses. It is commonly attracted to homes with improperly maintained trash containers and pet food on patios and decks. The smoky brown cockroach usually invades attic or crawl spaces.

Bees

Behavior:

• Flying Insects
• Known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax
• Make honey to feed their young during the winter
• There are three types of bees in each colony: Queen, Worker and Drone
Queen bees are only female and have only one job which is to lay eggs
The queen will lay up to 2000 eggs per day at a rate of 5-6 eggs per minute
The queen only mates after noon and will mate with 10-17 drones in one day
Worker bees are female and clean the hive, collect pollen and nectar, feed the colony, and take care of offspring
Drone bees are male and only have one job which is to mate with the queen
• Only females sting
• Some bees store venom in a sac attached to the stinger
• They see all colors except red
• Bees will sometimes die after stinging if the one they stung has thick skin
• Their stingers are hooked to their abdomen so when they try to fly away after a sting, part of their abdomen can be ripped away
• They communicate with each other through dances
• They are able to visit thousands of flowers each day
• One hive contains 40,000 – 45,000 bees
• Bees life span is about six weeks
• They fly 13 – 15 miles per hour
• They are the only insect that produces food eaten by humans

What Bees Look Like:

• They have two sets of wings
• They are hairy
• They have six legs
• They are black and yellow striped
• They are about 1/2 inch long
• They have a long head for gathering pollen

What Bees Eat:

• Pollen
• Nectar

Where Bees Live:

• They live in hives
• They will build their hives where they feel they will not be disturbed and where the queen will be safe
• They tend to choose dark, enclosed, dry spaces near a water source

How to Get Rid of Bees:

• Call a professional

How to Prevent Bees from Entering Your Home:

• Limit property from sources of pollen
• Keep sweet scents away from your home
• They also tend to build their hives near a water source, so eliminate any water sources around your home

Consequences of Infestation:

• More of just a pest when they get into your home
• Bees will only sting if they feel threatened
• Not all types of bees have venom sacs connected to their stingers
• Bee stings can be painful, but are usually harmless
• A Bee sting can become a problem if the person stung is allergic to bees or if stung multiple times
• The stung area can be red and puffy and the stinger will be right in the center of the red mark

Wasps

Behavior:

• Most active during the day; returing to their nest by dusk
• When they die, they release a smell warning other wasps of lurking danger as well as an indicator that help is needed
• Become very agressive from August through October
• Keep crops safe because they eat other insects
• 10,000 Wasps in a nest
• Hibernate during winter
• Three types of wasps within a nest:
• The Queen
is the only breeding female
She builds the nest with chewed wood and plants
She lays 100 eggs per day
Eggs hatch within 5-8 days of being laid
• Drones
are male
Can’t sting
Die after mating with the queen
• Workers
find food for nests

What Wasps Look Like:

• They have two pairs of wings
• They have smooth bodies
• One stinger
• They are black and yellow, but tend to have more black
• Large abdomen
• Six legs
• Big oval eyes

What Wasps Eat:

• Spiders
• Caterpillars
• Ants
• Bees
• Flies
• Beetles
• Nectar
• Fruit
• Anything sweet
• Anything with protein

Where Wasps Live:

• In nests
• Underground
• Hollow trees
• Attics
• Inside wall cavities
• Sheds
• Under roofs, decks, or patios
• On top of the ground

How to Get Rid of Wasps:

• Call a professional

How to Prevent Wasps from Invading Your Home:

• Repair cracks in the structure
• Cover attic and crawl space vents with fine mesh insect screen
• Avoid sweet scents and bright colors around home
• Keep dumpster lids closed
• Clean recyclables before stoing them

Consequences of Infestation:

• They keep other pests, such as spiders and other insects away from your property
• They will sting when they feel threatened or when they feel like the nest is being threatened
  • Stings are very painful to humans
  • Stings will cause swelling, itching, and pain at the stie of the sting
  • If allergic to wasps:
  Difficulty breathing
  Hives
  Severe decrease in blood pressure
  Swelling of face, lips, throat, and tongue

Carpet Beetle

Size: Tiny, round beetles with larvae that grow up to ¼ inch in length.
Color: While generally tan in color, they are covered by tiny black, brown, and white scales.
General Information: They are considered fabric pests and can cause damage to natural fiber products like wool, silk, cashmere, and carpeting.

Clothes Moth

Size: 3/8 inch long
Color: Cream, with red hairs on the top of the head. Larvae are white in color.
General Information: They are found on fabrics and cause damage to personal belongings. Clothes moths tend to stay confined near clothing, which makes them easier to control.

Crickets

Certain crickets invade homes and become a pest by their presence. Homeowners complain of their chirping, which can be annoying especially at night. Indoors some crickets can feed on a wide variety of fabrics, foods, and paper products: Cotton, linen, wool, rayon, nylon, silk, furs, wallpaper, and glue from book bindings.

Pantry Pests

There are many different species of pantry pests. If you notice small, flying, moth like, insects in your kitchen you may have a pantry pest infestation. Remove all items from your pantry and place them on a table. Examine each product for webbing, live or dead insects inside grains, rice, cereals, flower products etc. Dispose of all suspected infestations and seal all other non contaminated products in air-tight containers. Following this process our technician will treat all areas of the pantry to kill and repel any remaining pests.

Fleas

Behavior:

• Blood sucking parasite
• Are able to cut through skin using powerful jaws and inject an anticoagulant contained in their saliva
• The anticoagulant prevents blood from clotting which then causes the symptoms of the bite
• Symptoms of the bite include: redness, inflammation, and irritation
• Eggs that are laid on an animal host are not attached to the animal
• The eggs fall off and hatch on the ground in a nesting bed, carpets, uholstery or cracks in the floor
• Females lay a few eggs a day until she lays 200-400 eggs
• Eggs hatch within a week
• Four major cycles of a fleas’ life
• The Egg
Eggs develop into flea larvae
• Larvae are very active
They feed on organic debris or adult feces
• Pupae (or cocoon) emerge within 7-14 days
• Mature into adult flea
• Infestations peak during spring, summer, and early fall, but are active all year round
• Tend to concentrate around areas where pets sleep
• Can jump 7-8 inches vertically and 14-16 inches horizontally
• Attracted to body heat, movement, and exhaled carbon dioxide
• Transport themselves on rodents and mammals
• Can hibernate up to two years

What Fleas Look Like:

• Dark brown to reddish brown in color
• 1/8 inch long
• Wingless
• Bodies are thin and flat
• Covered in hair that helps root them to the host

What Fleas Eat:

• Blood

Where Fleas Live:

• Birds
• Mammals
• Pet beds
• Carpet floors
• Hardwood floors
• Furniture
• Shady, moist, and humid areas
• On the lawn in dark, moist areas

How to Get Rid of Fleas:

• Call a professional
• Have your pets treated for fleas
• Vacuum thoroughly (This will only help, not get rid of them)
• Wash the bedding your pet sleeps in

Ways to Prevent Fleas:

• Vacuum regularly
• Shampoo pets regularly with flea killing shampoo
• Maintain lawn
• Consequences of Infestation:
• Nuisance to humans and pets
• Bites can cause itchiness, redness, and inflammation
• Diseases can be transferred from the flea to animals and humans through bites or if accidentally ingested
• Transferred from rodent to rodent or from rodent to human
• Medical problems that can be transferred include:
Flea allergies (pets only)
Tapeworms
Hair loss (pets only)
Secondary skin irritations
Anemia
Bubonic plague

Ticks

When the family dog picks up a tick it is usually the brown dog tick or American dog tick. Both multiply rapidly. The female of either variety may lay 5,000 to 8,000 eggs. Indoor infestations are most likely with the brown dog tick. The tick normally prefers indoor warmth and shelter to live out its life cycle. The female lays her eggs in crevices, behind baseboards, under the edge of carpets or in similar hiding places. The insect attaches itself to the host (human or animal) and sucks its blood until it engorges itself. Sometimes the tick will fall off the host and seek a safe place to lay her eggs.

Rats

Behavior:

• There are two major types of rats found in Southern CaliforniaNorway Rats:
  also known as ground rats – they like to stay close to the ground

  Roof Rats:

  found in the attics of homes
• They exhibit similar behaviors, just found in different locations
• They are usually active at night
• They have poor eyesight, but keen senses of hearing, smell, taste, and touch
• Constantly exploring and learning
• Memorize locations of pathways, obstacles, food and water, shelter, and features of their environment
• Gain entry to structures by gnawing, climbing, jumping, or swimming through sewers and entering through toilets or broken drains
• A rat can survive longer without water than a camel
• They can fit through holes the size of a nickel
• They can hold their breath for three minutes
• They can tread water for three days
• They are only aggressive when they feel threatened
• They can multiply very quickly
  In 18 months, two rats could have over one million decendants
  Each litter has between 6-18 pups
  Female resumes breeding 2-5 days after pups are born
  Pups are born 21-23 days after conception
  6-18 pups born every 23 days
  At three months old, rats are ready to reproduce

What Rats Look Like:

• Norway Rats:
7-9 inches long
Shaggy brown hair
Blunt nose
Tail is 6-8 inches long
Blunt ended capsule shaped droppings about 3/4 inch long
• Roof Rats:
  6-8 inches long
  Smooth brown fur
  Pointed nose
  Tail is 7-10 inches long
  Droppings are 1/2 inch long with pointed ends

What Rats Eat:

• They are omnivores and will eat anything, consuming upto 1/3 of their body weight in a day
Dog food
Garbage
Food waste
Uneaten pet food outside
Fruit from trees
Berries
Dog droppings
Bird food

Where Rats Live:

• Piles of debris, yard waste, lumber
• Old garages
• Under patios and decks
• Holes in a building foundation
• Dark enclosed spaces like:
Basements
Attics
Boxes
Near hot water heaters and furnaces
Insulation
Crawl spaces
Behind or under cubboards, counters, bathtubs, and shower stalls

How to Get Rid of Rats:

• Call a professional

How to Prevent Rats:

• Stack firewood 18 inches off the ground and away from buildings
• Birdhouses and bird food should be on poles and in trays that rats can not get to
• Keep garbage can lids closed tight
• Bushes should be three feet from the house
• Keep yards clean
• Do not compost animal products
• Keep foods in basements in closed containers that rats can’t get into
• Cover all openings and holes that lead into your home
• Keep your house clean
• Do not leave pet food outside
• Keep trees away from doors, windows, and other openings
• Keep kitchen sink rinsed and clean:
Use one cup of bleach and rinse with boiling water
• Never trhow grease down the drain
• Keep toilet lid down when not in use
• If you find a rat in the toilet, squirt a little dishwashing soap into the bowl, wait a couple minutes, then flush the toilet

Consequences of Infestation:

• They can contaminate and eat your food and your pet’s food
• They damage containers and packaging materials where food is kept
• Gnawing on electrical wires, wooden structures, and tear up insulation material which can lead to expensive repairs
• Rats do bite when they feel threatened
• Rat bites are rare but painful and dangerous
• Bites have not been known to transmit rabies in North America but it is still recommended that you receive a rabies shot if bitten by a rat
• Bites can be susceptible to tetanus infection
• Rats can transmit oer 70 diseases through bites, urine or feces
• Some of the major disesases include:
Murine Typhus – caused from rat flea bites
Leptospirosis – caused from rat urine and can cause liver and kidney damage and/or cardiovascular problems
Salmonellosis – food poisoning
Rat bit fever
Bubonic plague – caused from rats or rat fleas biging humans
Lymphocytic choriomenigitis – caused from saliva and urine of rats
Hantavirus – caused from rat urine and feces and can cause cardiovascular shock

House Mice

Behavior:

• Mainly nocturnal
• Poor eyesight
• Rely on hearing and have excellent senses of smell, taste, and touch
• Color blind
• Burrow into the ground in fields or around stuructures when shelter is not available
• Nests are constructed of shredded fiborous material (paper, burlap, and similar items in a ball shape loosley woven together 4-6 nches in diameter
• Litters of 5-12 mice are born around 19-21 days after mating
• A female can become pregnant again within 12 hours of giving birth
• They usually breed every 6 weeks
• Become sexually mature at 6-10 weeks of age
• They breed year round, but if living outdoors mostly breed in spring and fall
• A female can have 5-10 litters per year
• Females will nurture young mice that are not hers
• Have rapidly growing populations
• Enter structures by gnawing, climbing, jumping, and swimming
• Share nests
• Very agressive and show no fear of new objects
• Are very fast
• Able to run up vertical surfaces
• Able to run horizontally on phone wires and ther narrow surfaces with ease
• Squeeze through openings slightly more than 1/4 inch in diameter
• Can survive at a constant 24˚ Farenheit for ten generations

What Mice Look Like:

• Small gray, white, black or brown
• Short-haired
• Slightly pointed eyes
• Protruding eyes
• Large ears

What Mice Eat:

• They will eat anything humans eat, but when they are in the wild will eat foods higher in carbohydrates

Where Mice Live:

• Dark places near food and water
• Cold weather causes them to move indoors
• Under kitchen and bathrooms sinks
• Homes
• Sheds
• Forests
• Barns
• Fields

How to Get Rid of Mice:

• Call a professional
• Remove mouse friendly foods
• Fix any holes leading from the outside of the structure to the inside

Prevention of Mice:

• Sanitation
• Seal existing crevices, cracks, and gaps
• Do not leave doors propped open
• Put mouse friendly food in closed containers
• Clean up dishes and food waste right away
• Keep the yard clean
• Block exhaust vents, dryer vents, and chimneys with hardware cloth

Consequences of Infestation:

• Expensive repairs to damaged structures
• Rarely bite (Only when they are scared)
• If a bite dies occur they usually don’t break the skin so there is rarely an adverse reaction
• If a bite does break the skin there could be an infection and you should see a doctor
• Can transmit diseases through urine, feces, and saliva:
• Leptodpirosis:urine contaminating food or water
Begins with flu-like symptoms and can lead to liver failure
• Salmonella: mice droppings
Stomach issues, fever, chills
• Mousebite Fever: mouse urine or secretions from eyes or mouth from a sick mouse
Rash, flu-like symptoms, heart illness
• Ricketsiallpox: mice mite bites
Rash, fever, chills, headache
• Lymphositic Choriomeningitis: mouse droppings and urine
Inflammation of the brain
• Tapeworm:intestinal parasite
Digestion problems
• Hantavirus: mouse excretions
Caused from breathing in airborne virus
Flu-like symptoms, respiratory failure, and is fatal

Bird Mites

Behavior:

• Also known as Avian Mites
• Parasitic arthropods (in the tick/spider family)
• Mature adults are quick due to the large front legs
• if host is active, the mite is less active
• If the host is more sedentary, the mite will increase their activeness
• Able to complete development in 5-12 days
This makes it possible to attain a large population
• If the population is too big, the bird mites will migrate in mass to a new host
• Can survive several weeks without taking a blood meal
• Mite eggs are laid in nests or on feathers
• Most active from dusk till dawn
• More active on damp, humid, or overcast days and nights
• Most active during spring and summer
• Cannot survive on human blood

What Bird Mites Look Like:

• Very small and barely visible to the eye
• Eight legs
• Oval shaped
• Sparse covering of short hairs
• Semitransparent which makes them difficult on skin until blood is digested which makes them appear reddish-blackish

What Bird Mites Eat:

• Birds’ blood

Where Bird Mites Live:

• On Birds
• In bird nests
• Are able to have other animals as hosts, but can only survive off of birds’ blood

How to Get Rid of Bird Mites:

• Call a professional
• Vacuum
• Wash fabrics in infested areas
• Remove the bird nests and bird houses near your home

Ways to Prevent Bird Mites:

• Remove bird feeders and bird houses from the yard
• Trim tree limbs near the home
• be cautious of bird nests in nearby trees and under window air conditioners
• Vacuum frequently

Consequences of Infestation:

• For birds, bird mites can cause the bird to go weak over time from anemia
• Can bite humans, but are not harmful towards humans
• Bites on humans cause irritation, rash, itching, redness, and inflammation from the bird mite’s saliva
• Can cause secondary infections if scratched too much

Silverfish

Behavior:

• Active at night and hide during the day
• Fast moving
• Do not like to be seen
• Females may lay over 100 eggs during a lifetime
Eggs are laid singly or two or three at a time in small groups
Eggs hatch in about two weeks
• Can reach maturity in 3-24 months
• Can easily be transferred into the house inside cardboard boxes old books or papers, or on any starched fabrics as well as other materials
• Populations do not build up fast
• A large infestation usually indicates a longtime infestation

What Silverfish Look LIke:

• Flat elongated bodies about 1/3 – 3/4 inch long
• Broad near the head, tapering toward the rear (carrot-shaped)
• Wingless and fragile
• Covered with scales
• Two long antennae-like appendages at the head and three antennae-like appendages at the rear
• Adults are about 1/2 inch long with silvery or gray bodies
• Eggs are whitish and oval
• Silverfish are also known as Bristletails

What Silverfish Eat:

Where Silverfish Live:

• Damp, cool places (77% – 95% humidity)
• Basements, laundry rooms, bathrooms, kitchens
• Sometimes found in bath tubs or sinks unable to climb out
• Often found in new buildings where walls are still damp from plaster and green lumber
• Can be found outside under rocks, bark and leaf mold, and in ant, termite, burd and animal nests

How to Get Rid of Silverfish:

• Call a professional
• Eliminate sources of moisture like:
Faulty plumbing
Condensation
• Dehumidify
• Mend leaking pipes
• Ventilate closed rooms and attics
• Eliminate standing water
• Use a dehumidifer
• Remove food sources

Ways to Prevent Silverfish:

• Sanitation
• Remove old stacks of newspapers, papers, magazines, books, and fabrics
• Remove food that has spilled and has been stored for long periods of time
• Fix any leaks right away
• Lighting dark, sheltered areas can help control the silverfish more easily

Consequences of Infestation:

• Silverfish are not harmful to humans
• Causes damage to food in pantries, clothing, wallpaper, and books

Black Widow Spider

Color & Size: a Body may be up to ¾ inch in length with the abdomen reaching 3/8 inch in diameter. They are typically glossy black but may also be dark brown to light brown. The red markings on the underside of the abdomen often connect to form an hourglass shape. The black widow spider is widely feared because of its painful bite. They typically nest at ground level and bites normally occur when people are picking up an item under which the spider is hiding.