Insects in the house
Bed bugs, roaches, ants, termites, fleas, gnats, silverfish and stink bugs: how to tell them apart and what to do in the first 24 hours.
Ants
What ants eat, how long workers and queens live, whether ants sleep, and which ants matter in US homes, with links to identification and…
Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are small, flat, blood-feeding insects that hide within 8 feet of where you sleep. How to identify them, where they hide, and…
Bees Around the House
The bees around a US home: honey, bumble, carpenter, sweat and mason bees. How to tell them apart and from wasps, and when bees become a…
Black Widow Spider
How to identify a black widow spider (female, male, baby, egg sac, web), where they hide around US homes, how dangerous they are, and…
Brown Recluse Spider
How to identify a brown recluse spider by its eyes, violin mark and size, where brown recluses live in the US, how dangerous they are,…
Carpenter Ants
What carpenter ants look like, how big they get, whether they bite or fly, what they eat, and how to tell them from black ants and termites.
Chiggers
Chiggers are larval mites so small you can barely see them. What chiggers look like, where they live, chiggers vs clover mites, and why…
Cockroaches
What cockroaches are, which roaches live in US homes, what they eat, how long they live, why they matter for health, and how to get rid…
Crickets
Crickets in the US: house, field, camel, Jerusalem and mole crickets, why they chirp at night, what they eat, if they bite, and how to…
Drain Flies
Drain flies are fuzzy, moth-like gnats that breed in slime inside sinks and showers. How to identify them vs fruit flies, if they are…
Dust Mites
Dust mites are microscopic relatives of spiders that live in beds and eat shed skin. What they look like, their actual size, allergy…
Fleas
How fleas live, jump and survive without a host, where they come from when you have no pets, and why one spray never ends an infestation…
House Flies
Why there are so many flies in your house, how to tell house flies from cluster, blow and small flies, how long house flies live, and…
Fruit Flies
Fruit flies are tiny tan flies with red eyes that breed in ripe produce, trash and drains. What they eat, how they get in, if they bite,…
Gnats
Gnats in your house are usually fungus gnats, fruit flies, or drain flies. How to tell them apart, how long gnats live, and how to keep…
Groundhogs (Woodchucks)
The groundhog (woodchuck) is a large burrowing ground squirrel. How to tell it from gophers and marmots, baby groundhogs, lifespan,…
Opossums
The Virginia opossum is North America's only marsupial: a cat-sized scavenger that rarely gets rabies. Learn ID, possum vs opossum,…
Raccoons
Raccoons are masked, nocturnal omnivores that thrive in US cities and suburbs. What they eat, how long they live, rabies and roundworm…
Silverfish
Silverfish are wingless, silvery insects that live in damp rooms and eat paper, glue and starch. They don't bite or spread disease. How…
Skunks
The skunk is a black-and-white mammal known for its spray. Species (striped, spotted, hooded), baby skunks, what skunk poop looks like,…
Springtails
What springtails are, their actual size, whether they bite or are harmful, why they show up in bathrooms and houseplants, and how to get…
Squirrels
Squirrels are rodents: tree, ground and flying squirrels. What they eat, whether they hibernate or carry rabies, how long they live and…
Stink Bugs
Stink bugs in the US: the brown marmorated stink bug and native types, what they eat, if they bite or fly, what they smell like, how…
Termites
Termites are pale, soft-bodied social insects that eat wood and cause costly hidden damage. What they look like, what they eat, and how…
Wolf Spider
What a wolf spider looks like, how big wolf spiders get, common US species (Carolina, rabid, giant), why they come indoors, and how to…
Yellow Jackets
Yellow jackets are stinging social wasps that nest in the ground and walls. How to identify them, where they nest, why they attack, and…