Pest Guide

The number one nuisance pest in North America, ants make up the majority of local pest problems. Varying by species, the average colony is made up of anywhere between 300,000 to 500,000 ants. With the capability of surviving more than seven years, it’s no surprise that they are likely to take up residence in your home.

Including mice and rats, rodents can present a number of threats to homeowners. Known to chew through wires, causing electrical fires, transmit diseases, and even track in ticks, it’s always a good idea to prevent these pests before a problem occurs.

Causing more than $5 billion in damage to homes across the United States each year, termites are most common in the southern part of the nation, including the Carolinas. Since most homeowners’ insurance won't cover termite damage, professional help and prevention methods are often recommended.

One of the most feared pest infestations, bed bugs are small, flat insects that tend to congregate in mattress folds, furniture, carpet, or wall folds. Bed bugs get their name from their habit of hiding near beds, which allows them to feed on human hosts while they sleep.

There are a number of stinging insects common to North America, many of which pose a threat to your family’s well being. Insects like bees, wasps and hornets can cause painful, sometimes life-threatening stings! It’s important to understand the behaviors and characteristics of these pests, so you can stay safe.

Contrary to popular belief, spiders are not insects; they are actually arachnids, closely related to ticks and scorpions. Possessing the signature trait of eight legs and known to leave behind webs, spiders are notorious for spooking many homeowners.

Most likely to affect your four-legged friends, fleas can also latch on to human hosts, exposing you to diseases like typhus and tularemia. In addition to applying flea treatment to your pets, it’s also a good idea to safeguard your home.

Closely related to spiders, ticks also belong to the arachnid group. Relying on the blood of their hosts, ticks are likely to move from one mammal to another in order to survive. Due to their transient behavior, these pests are vectors of a number of diseases, including Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme disease.

Adapted for aerial movement, and streamlined for speed, flies are some of the most difficult pests to catch. In addition, they feed on rotting food and animal feces, making them highly resistant to many insecticides but also undesirable to have around your home. Sometimes it takes a professional pest control company to eliminate these 6-legged critters.

Due to their high reproduction rate and elusive nature, silverfish are some of the most difficult pests to eliminate once they have invaded your home. For this reason, preventative pest control is extremely important. With their appearance matching their name, silverfish probably aren’t something you want to find lurking around your home!

More of a nuisance than a threat, house crickets are omnivorous scavengers that feed on almost anything in sight. Known to destroy both vegetable gardens and clothing, all while producing a repetitious chirping sound, crickets cause quite the disturbance! You can typically find more of these creatures in heavily wooded areas.

Not only are mosquitoes known for disrupting outdoor activities, but they are also vectors for dangerous diseases. Drawn to standing water and capable of laying up to 3,000 eggs in a lifetime, it’s no wonder that mosquitoes are one of the top nuisance pests in the US!

Boxelder bugs are a species of insect that spend most of their time living outside. In the fall when the weather cools they migrate inside of homes and other buildings in large numbers to find a safe, warm spot to overwinter inside of.

Clothing moths get their name because their larvae feed on wools and other clothing materials, causing great damage to such items.

The carpet beetle obviously gets its name from being a common pest of carpets. This species has been observed nearly worldwide, though they are more commonly found in the northern states of the United States.

Appearing as more of a threat in comparison to other pests, earwigs are more of an eyesore than an actual threat. Though they don’t pose much harm to humans, they are still extremely unwelcomed by homeowners. And for good reason. These pests are most widely recognized for their menacing pincers and scorpion-like thorax.

Merchant grain beetles are typically not found in grain products, but instead like to attack cereals, cake mixes, macaroni, cookies, and chocolate. Merchant grain beetles are dark brown and have six saw-like teeth on each side of their bodies.

The Indian Meal Moth was given its name after an insect scientist found it feeding on corn meal, also known as Indian meal. From wing tip to wing tip, adult moths measure from 5/8 of an inch to 3/4 of an inch long.

Mostly nocturnal, cockroaches like to seek shelter from the outdoors. Likely to gravitate in dark, warm locations, many homeowners notice that cockroaches inhabit their bathrooms, closets, and kitchens. Ranging in color from light brown to black, the type of cockroach has much to do with the location they are likely to be found.​

The spotted lanternfly is a pest from Asia that has a life cycle that lasts the entire year. When fully grown, this pest will take the beautiful fruit tree in your front yard and reduce it to a dead stump. The spotted lanternfly feeds on trunks, branches, and twigs while leaving behind a black trail as its only marker of presence. Luckily, it doesn’t directly harm people, but it does excrete honeydew that can attract other harmful pests to the area. 

Centipedes are sometimes called “hundred-leggers” because of their many pairs of legs. However, contrary to what their name implies, they can have as many or more than 175 legs. They can be an extreme nuisance and some species can inflict a painful bite, but it is not lethal.

The brown marmorated stink bug, an insect not previously seen on our continent, was accidentally introduced into eastern Pennsylvania and in recent years, calls to our office related to stink bugs are definitely on the rise.