Pest Identification

Ants

Ants are social insects belonging to the order of insects known as “Hymenoptera” – the same order containing bees and wasps.

Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are very small parasitic insects that are rising in number, making a strong comeback after nearly 50 years of limited activity in the United States.

Box Elder Bugs

Box Elder Bugs (Boisea trivittata) are common pests – sometimes called “Garage Beetles” or “Maple Bugs” – that can be found throughout Maryland.

Cockroaches

Human habitation is associated with 30 of the 4000 species of Cockroach in the world but only four species are considered pests in the United States. 

Crickets

There are thought to be around 900 species of true Crickets, belonging to the “Gryllidae” family. These crickets tend to be nocturnal and are generally characterized by slightly flattened looking, light brown and long antennae.

Fleas

Ctenocephalides felis, the ‘Cat Flea’, is one of the most profuse and prevalent fleas found in the world. As the name suggests, the ‘Cat Flea’s’ primary host is the domestic cat but they can also live on other pets and animals.

Flies

Flies are insects of the order ‘Diptera’ and have a single pair of wings. Of the many types of fly, the three most encountered by American Pest Management are: Blow Fly or Bottle Fly, Fruit Fly and House Fly.

House Centipedes

House Centipedes belong to the family Chilopoda and are not an insect, but a common arthropod relative.  These “hundred-footed creatures” are commonly found throughout most of the US and the entire world

Ladybird Beetles

Ladybird Beetles belong to the order Coleoptera and are also commonly referred to as Ladybugs. An adult Ladybird Beetles are oval, convex and are typically red in color with 6 black spots on each wing. Their hemispheric body is about the size of 1/2 of a pea.

Mosquitoes

Thousands of species of Mosquitoes inhabit the earth, although only around 150 species are home to the United States. Mosquitoes feed on nectar but female mosquitoes will also feed on the blood of humans.

Rodents

Rodents are mammals that are characterized by having two incisors which must be kept short by gnawing as they grow continuously. Among the most well known and common rodents are: Mice, Rats, Chipmunks and Squirrels.

Silverfish

Spiders

The American House Spider, House Spider or Domestic Spider is found throughout the world, and is common throughout the United States and Canada. The adult male spider is smaller, with an elongated abdomen.

Stinging Insects

There are many species of stinging insects that range from the beneficial Honeybee and parasitic Wasp, to the invasive European Paper Wasp. Some of the primary species found by American Pest are Yellow Jackets, wasps and more.

Stink Bugs

Stink Bugs belong to the order hemiptera and are also known as Shield Bugs. They are appropriately named because Stink Bugs have small glands located on their thorax that are capable of emitting a offensive smelling liquid.

Termites

Termites are small, foraging insects that live in large social colonies while feeding on cellulose from leaf litter, wood, soil and dung. It is thought that there are around 4,000 species of Termite with around 10% of these considered as pests to wood.

Ticks

Ticks are members of the ‘Ixodidae’ family of insects. They are external parasites that feed on the blood of non-domestic wildlife such as mice, deer, fox, raccoons, and rabbits. Ticks pose serious health concerns as they are known to carry and transmit disease and illness.