Beetles include more species than any other, making up almost 25% of all known life forms. They are prevalent in the US and there are many different types found in and around homes. A single female can lay thousands of eggs in her lifetime, as they multiply quickly....
Mosquitoes are more than just annoying pests. They can transmit several infectious diseases to people, pets, and livestock and these illnesses are continuously on the rise. But there’s no need to let mosquitos keep you inside! Planet Orange is the answer to help keep...
Ticks are not insects. They are arachnids belonging to the group – mites. They are bigger than all other mites. There are hundreds of species of ticks in the world and they are capable of spreading more than 65 diseases, many of them serious. Lyme disease, Rocky...
There are close to 2500 species of termites described worldwide. If you weighed all of the termites, they would weigh twice as much as all of the humans on the planet. There are over 50 species in the United States, but only a few species of subterranean termites and...
Stink bugs (Heteroptera,Pentatomidae) Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs (Pentatomidae - Halyomorpha halys) Brown marmorated stink bugs are a very invasive species. It was introduced from Asia in 1998 and is found in most states, including California. They are brownish in...
Paper wasps (Vespidae; Polistinae) The most common paper wasps in California are the apches paper wasp (Polistes apachus), the northern paper wasp (Polistes fuscatus) and the European paper wasp (Polistes dominula). Paper wasps build open, umbrella-shaped nests,...
Springtails (Collembola) Springtails are very small, wingless insects. Some are brown or gray, while other are brightly colored. They have a structure (furcula) on their underside that enables them to jump. Springtails are probably the most abundant non-social insect...
Spiders (Araneae) Although most spiders possess venom glands, most are too small to break the skin with their fangs and have no desire to do so. All spiders will bite in self-defense if they are handled carelessly, such as being squeezed. Most bites occur when people...
Sowbugs (Porcellionidae) and Pillbugs (Armadillidiidae) Sowbugs and pillbugs, which are also called woodlice, are crustaceans, not insects. They require a lot of moisture where they live. Sowbugs (Porcellio laevis) and Pillbugs (Armadillium vulgare) can be beneficial...
Silverfish (Lepisma saccharina) Silverfish are cosmopolitan insects that have been widely distributed by commerce. It is thought that they originated in the tropics. They are small insects, up to ¾ inch long and silvery in color. They are covered in scales, which...
Rodents (Rodentia) There are approximately 32 species of rats, mice, and voles in California. Only a few of them are pests. The deer mouse (Peromyscus spp.) is one of the most common rodent species found throughout most of the United States. They are 4″ – 9″ long, are...
Pigeons – (Columbidae – Columba livia domestica) When pigeons live on our buildings and deface it, it is possible to remove the birds by excluding them (netting) from the area, but we don't need to kill them. You should make it a priority to clean the area’s they have...
Moths (Lepidoptera) There are several types of moths that can become household pests. Clothes moths can damage clothing and pantry moths can infest some stored foods. Other moths that come in the house are occasional invaders and won't do any damage. Clothes moths...
Mites (Acarina) Mites are very small artropods that are barely visible to the naked eye. Anyone who identifies mites needs a good microscope. There are several species that feed on mammals or birds and that can occasionally invade homes and bite people and...
Flies (Diptera) Flies are the fourth largest order of insects and there are over 100,000 species. Most of them are beneficial to some degree as they serve as a food source to many animals and even a few plants. Many breed in organic material such as animal manure...
Fleas (Siphonaptera) Fleas are interesting insects with a prominent place in history. The adults of some species can transmit the plague (Yersinia pestis), which was responsible for the deaths of millions of people. In 1347, the first cases of the plague known as...
Earwigs (Dermaptera) Earwigs have elongated bodies with a pair of strong, movable forceps at the rear end. They are usually pretty shiny, brown insects and some species cannot fly and others can. There are about 900 species of earwigs worldwide and 21 of those...
Cockroaches (Blattodea, occasionally called Blattaria) The name "cockroach" comes from the Spanish word for cockroach, cucaracha, transformed by English folk etymology into "cock" and "roach". Cockroaches have been on Earth for more than 300 million years and are...
Centipedes (Chilopoda) Centipedes are arthropods that nobody wants in their homes. These animals have the capability of biting you with painful results. Only one species of centipede in this country is dangerously venomous. There are some very large centipedes in...
Carpet Beetles (Dermestidae) Carpet beetle larvae are small, about 1/4??? long and carrot-shaped with long hairs. The larvae will feed on a wide variety of foods, including wool and cotton fabrics. Other foods include hair, leather, bird's nests and the foods that...
Carpenter ants (Formicidae) Carpenter ants are found throughout the United States. There are about 43 species. Most of them are large, but there are several smaller species. They have a convex thorax which makes it easy to tell them apart from field ants, which have...
Boxelder bugs (Rhopalidae) The western boxelder bug (Boisea rubrolineata) feeds on the leaves, flowers and seedpods of the seed bearing boxelder tree. The adults are about ½ inch long and are black with three red lines dorsally. The abdomen is red. They can become...
Bed Bugs (Cimicidae) Bed bugs are true bugs. They belong to the Order Heteroptera and family Cimicidae. They have piercing mouthparts that they use to suck blood out of its prey. Sometimes they get a little excited and will climb on the back of another bed bug who...
Ants (Formicidae) Ants are very successful social insects. They have small to very large colonies that contain workers (which are sterile females), queens (one or many), secondary reproductives that take the place of a queen that passes on and winged reproductives...