pest library

Our pest library is a great resource to identify some of the pests we have in the central PA area. Scroll down the alphabetized list or click on the links below to read about the most common pests.

ANTS BEDBUGS ROACHES SPOTTED LANTERNFLY STINGING INSECTS

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Ants

 Carpenter ants are among the largest ants in our area. They may be found infesting homes and other buildings.  Carpenter ants have dark-colored bodies, narrow waists, bent antennae and hind wings that are shorter than front wings in cases where wings are present. When found in homes, their nests are usually found in moist or decayed wood. Carpenter ants damage wood by excavating and creating galleries and tunnels for their nest. These areas are clean, i.e. they do not contain sawdust or other debris, and are smooth, with a well sanded appearance. The potential damage to wood structures is somewhat variable. The longer a colony is present in a structure, the greater the damage that can be done. Structural wood can be weakened when carpenter ant damage is severe, although damage occurs slowly, often taking years to occur.

 The pavement ant is one of the most commonly encountered house-infesting ants throughout Pennsylvania. Pavement ants are around 2.5 to 3 millimeters in length and have parallel lines on their thorax and head. They can vary in color from light brown to black, and their legs are lighter in color than the rest of their bodies. Pavement ant antennae have multiple segments and a club at the end. They naturally nest in the ground under a variety of objects but gravitate towards the pavement. In times that they are trying to avoid cold weather, pavement ants can be found nesting in homes near heat sources, such as water heaters. Inside the home, they can spread bacteria to all surfaces they come into contact with which can contaminate your food.

  Odorous House Ants are species of small ant that also goes by the common names odorous house ant, sugar ant, stink ant, and coconut ant. Workers are between 1/16 and 1/8 inch long and monomorphic (each of the types within the colony are about the same size). The body is uniform in color from brown to black, antenna are segmented but without a club. Odorous house ants will, given time, develop extremely large colonies. Winged ants from this type appear in May through July. Odorous house ants will nest indoors near sources of moisture and warmth, but also in termite-damaged wood. They prefer sugars and sweets but their ability to feed on many types of food means they can contaminate stored products throughout the home.

 Pharaoh ants, also known as Sugar ants, are small, 1/12 to 1/16 inches in length, of a uniform color of Yellow to Reddish Brown, sometimes almost appearing translucent. Their antennae are segmented, with a 3 segmented club at the end. They are found throughout the United States, and are generally found only in heated structures in the Northeast because they usually cannot survive outdoors all year in our climate. 

 Aphids

 Aphids often seem to find their way onto every type of plant, gardens and fields especially. They are small, soft-bodied insects that feed by sucking the nutrient-rich liquids out of plants. In large numbers, they can weaken plants significantly, harming flowers and fruit in particular. Aphids are known to multiply quickly, so it’s important to get them under control as early as possible. Many generations of them can occur in one season. Aphids are usually quite small (adults are under ¼-inch), and sometimes hard to see with the naked eye. Various species can appear in a wide range of coloration. Some may have a waxy or woolly coating on their bodies. They have pear-shaped bodies with long antennae; the nymphs look similar to adults. Most species have two short tubes (known as cornicles) projecting from their hind end. Adults are usually wingless, but most species will develop a winged form when populations become too crowded, so that when food quality suffers, the insects can travel to other areas to reproduce and start a new colony.  Aphids emit a sticky honeydew substance which can be seen on affected plants. Yellowed, curled, or misshapen fruit or leaves are another indicator of an infestation. 

Asian Lady Beetles 

 Adult multicolored Asian lady beetles were first observed in Pennsylvania during the fall of 1993. Large numbers of them can be found congregating on windows, doors sills, and porch decks. These beetles can become a nuisance when they inundate homes from September through April. The greatest issue caused by the multicolored Asian lady beetle is the discomfort they give to homeowners with their presence. It is not unheard of for tens of thousands of beetles to congregate in attics, ceilings and wall voids, and due to the warmth of the walls, will move around inside these voids and exit into the living areas of the home. In addition to beetles biting (which they can and will), they will exude a foul-smelling, yellow defensive chemical which will sometimes cause spotting on walls and other surfaces. Most people are only annoyed by the odor of these chemicals. However, some individuals have reported experiencing an allergic reaction to the defensive excretions.  

 Conversely, native ladybugs primarily eat aphids. They do not bite, and they don’t seek shelter in warm places over the winter. This type of ladybug is collected and sold as a natural pest control for gardeners. The most common species of native ladybug, the convergent lady beetle has 13 or fewer spots on the bright reddish-orange or red forewings. The convergent lady beetle has two white lines that meet or converge behind the head, giving the insect its name. The Asian lady beetle can have many spot patterns. It varies in color from yellow to red-orange or even black, but it always has lines that curve inward to form an M or W shaped pattern behind its head.

 Assassin Bugs

There are more than 160 species in the family of Assassin Bugs, also known as Kissing Bugs in North America, many of which are fairly common. Most assassin bugs are medium-sized to large predators of crop pests, but there are a few blood-sucking species. Even the beneficial insect predators can inflict a painful bite if handled carelessly, resulting in an inflammation that can persist for a few days. Adult assassin bugs are usually 1/2 to 3/4″ long. Most species are brownish or blackish, but are brightly colored. The long, curved mouth parts form a beak which is carried beneath the body, with the tip fitting in a groove visible on the underside of the body. They impale their prey on this mouth. The middle of the abdomen is often widened, so the wings don’t completely cover the entire width of the body.

 Bedbugs

 Bed bugs are small, brownish, flattened insects that feed solely on the blood of animals. Although the common bed bug usually prefers feeding on humans, it will also bite other warm-blooded animals when available, including dogs, cats, and rodents. Adult bed bugs are about 3/16” long and a reddish-brown, with oval-shaped, flattened bodies. They are sometimes mistaken for ticks, cockroaches, or other household insects. The immature bed bugs (nymphs) resemble the adults in appearance, but are smaller and lighter in color. Bed bugs cannot fly, and they don’t jump like fleas do ― but they can crawl rapidly over floors, walls, ceilings and other surfaces. As bed bugs grow they molt, shedding their skin five times in total before reaching full maturity. A full blood meal, which takes between 3 and 10 minutes, is needed between each successive molt. Bed Bugs are very resilient, difficult to get rid of, and can survive up to a year without a blood meal when not in a warm temperature environment. Bed bugs are nocturnal, meaning active mainly at night. During the daytime, they prefer to hide close to where people sleep. Their flattened bodies enable them to fit into extraordinarily tiny crevices. These areas are marked by dark spotting and staining, which is the dried excrement of the bugs. Unlike flea bites for example, which occur mainly around the lower legs and ankles, bed bugs feed on any skin exposed while sleeping. The welts and itching are often wrongly attributed to other causes, such as mosquitoes.

 Boxelder Bugs

 Boxelder bugs are considered nuisance pests. They do not sting or transmit disease, and are generally not known to bite, though there are rare reports of defensive biting. Boxelder bugs are not known to cause damage to dwellings or significant damage to plants. However, their feces will stain light colored surfaces when they are present. Smashing them can also release an unpleasant odor. 

 Centipedes

 Centipedes (commonly called 100 legged, though the House Centipede usually has about 30) are elongated, flattened arthropods with numerous legs – one pair per body segment. They eat many different types of insects. Although all centipedes have poison glands and the ability to inject their venom, bites are infrequent and normally do not cause more than temporary, localized pain. It cannot survive winters outdoors in Pennsylvania, but readily and easily reproduces inside heated structures. Because of their secretive nature, exotic appearance and quick, darting motions, homeowners typically fear and loathe the house centipede. 

 Cicadas and Locusts

Locusts are a type of grasshopper, but differ from other grasshoppers in their ability to migrate and swarm. Cicadas are sometimes mistaken for locusts because periodical cicadas appear in huge numbers when they first emerge from the ground. One easy way to identify cicadas is by the loud sound they make and their unique life cycle, coming in both annual and 17 year spans. Both locusts and other grasshoppers are herbivores, and in high numbers, can cause serious crop and plant damage. 

 Cutworms

 Cutworms are the larval forms of several species of moths, They are destructive pests that damage many different types of plants.  Cutworms can plague lawns and gardens from early spring through fall. Smaller caterpillars eat leaf tissue and larger larvae mainly feed on stems and cut-off plants. Cutworms appear to be more numerous in fields having plant residue and weed growth during the preceding fall, winter, or early spring.

 Flies

Cluster Fly and House Fly

  The cluster fly is one of the many species of insects that enter homes in late summer and early fall in search of protected areas in which to spend the winter. Cluster flies closely resemble the common house fly but differ in that they have a patch of yellow hairs under their wings. They normally enter homes and other structures by squeezing through cracks around windows and doors. Besides the obvious fact of them being a tremendous annoyance, cluster flies are in fact harmless; they do not feed or lay eggs during the winter months. The cluster fly maggot is an internal parasite of earthworms as opposed to the House Fly who can and will lay their eggs on nearly anything their maggots can feed on. Though there is no easy remedy for cluster fly problems, sealing exterior cracks and holes on the outside of the house, especially the south and west facing walls, can help to reduce the number of flies that find their way inside dramatically. 

Drain Fly

 Drain flies (also known as moth flies) sometimes appear suddenly and mysteriously, becoming a nuisance in homes where they appear. Drain fly larvae grow and feed in stagnant or polluted, shallow water or in extremely moist organic solids. The eggs, larvae and pupae can be found in the muck, slime or gelatinous film that often accumulates on the sides of drains and overflow pipes in homes or any sewage rich area. Adult drain flies are small (1/5 to 1/6 inch long), fuzzy, dark or grayish insects with the body and wings densely covered with hairs. They are poor fliers and make quick, irregular, hesitating flights covering only a few feet in short, uneven lines.

Japanese Beetles

Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica) were first found in the United States in 1916, after being accidentally introduced into New Jersey. Until that time, this insect was restricted to Japan where it is not a major pest. This pest is considered to be an invasive species. It is now found throughout the eastern U.S., except for Florida, and continues to move westward.

Adult Japanese beetles are approximately 1/3 to 1/2 inch long, have a metallic green head and thorax (the area behind the head) with copper-brown wing covers. The sides of the abdomen have five white patches of hairs, and tip of abdomen has two patches of white hair.

Adult Japanese beetles feed on the leaves, flowers and fruits of many different plants. Preferred plants include rose, grape, linden, apple, crabapple, cherry, plum and related trees, birch, elm, raspberry, currant, basil, Virginia creeper, hollyhock, marigold, corn silks and soybean.

They skeletonize leaves by feeding on tissue between the major veins giving them a lace-like appearance. Damaged leaves turn brown and may fall off.

The larva, or grubs, chew grass roots and reduce the ability of grass to take up enough water and nutrients to remain healthy. When grub feeding is severe, dead patches of grass develop. These dead patches can be rolled back like a carpet due to the lack of roots. If grubs are not found, examine still living turf at the edges of damaged areas for their presence. Moles, skunks, crows and other insect-feeding animals may dig up grubs, further damaging the turf.

 Roaches

The four different species of cockroach present in Pennsylvania are:

German Roach

Oriental Roach

Brown Banded Roach

American Roach

Identifying Roaches:

Roaches are flat and oval shaped, with two antennae, which will vary in length depending on species

Roaches have wings, though not all roaches will use them to fly

Coloration:

Roaches can be light tan to dark brown, some species have stripes or bands on their backs or heads.

Roaches are a nuisance because they infest homes, businesses and other structures and they are able to spread disease and cause other health issues. Most indoor roach infestations are treated in the same manner and with the same roach control products, regardless of the species. It is important to be sure you are dealing with roaches and not a beetle infestation as the treatments are very different for these two pests.

Spiders 

 Spiders are one of the most common household pests one can encounter. There are many different types found in PA, most are completely harmless but can cause high levels of stress to many people with their presence. Nearly all spiders have jaws and fangs to deliver venom. However, most spider bites have little or no effect on humans, often because their fangs are too small to penetrate the skin. Exceptions can include people with compromised immune systems or other medical conditions that leave them vulnerable.

Daddy Long-legs

 Daddy Long-Legs have extremely long legs and are found throughout the year. Although these spiders can develop large populations in protected locations, they are not known to be in any way harmful. This spider is commonly found in cellars, warehouses, garages, and any dark, quiet, protected spots. They are not known to bite people.

Wolf Spiders

 Parson Spiders and Wolf Spiders are mostly ground dwelling spiders that primarily come out to hunt at night. They are somewhat large with hairy bodies and will bite if trapped against a person’s skin or clothing, the bite is often quite painful initially but will subside unless the person bitten is allergic to their venom. 

Garden Spiders

 Garden Spiders or Yellow Garden Spiders can be some of the largest and most colorful of the spiders commonly encountered in Pennsylvania. They are found in gardens, tall weeds, and sunny areas with foliage or other supporting structures on which they build the large orb webs. Yellow garden spiders are found throughout most of the United States.

Grass Spiders

 Grass spiders are very common in Pennsylvania and can be recognized by the large, somewhat concave, mostly horizontal, web with a tunnel located off to the one side. The webs are found low on grass, weeds, and ground covers. Their body is dark yellow to brown with a pair of darker bands that extend back from their eyes, and another pair of very thin lines located one on each side of the carapace. The abdomen part is generally darker than the carapace and has a lighter band of coloring.

Jumping Spiders

 Jumping spiders can be seen around many homes and the outdoors, though it is often overlooked due to its small size. The jumping spiders, as a rule, are relatively small, compact hunting spiders with darker bodies. They have very good eyesight and can pounce on their victims from a considerable distance. The chances of being bitten by this type of spider are quite slim. 

Brown Recluse 

 Brown Recluse Spiders are a chocolate brown color, and their bodies are about 9 millimeters in length with long legs and a violin-shaped marking starting high on the body. The bite of the brown recluse spider is often not immediately painful, although a slight stinging sensation may be felt. The principal concern is the necrotic properties of the venom, which causes it to destroy the tissue around the area where it is injected.  Affected tissue in the area becomes gangrenous, turns black, and eventually falls off, leaving a depression in the skin. Healing is slow and scar tissue often results.

Black Widows

 Black widows are notorious spiders identified by the colored, hourglass-shaped mark on their abdomens.  Female widow spiders have unusually large venom glands and their bite can be particularly harmful to large vertebrates, including humans. Only the bites of the females are dangerous to humans. Despite their notoriety, their bites rarely cause death or produce serious complications.

Spotted Lanternfly

The Spotted Lanternfly is a relatively new invasive species to the United States but if you are within our service area, no doubt you are familiar with this highly destructive insect. Native to Asia, namely China, India and Vietnam, the spotted lanternfly was first documented in the U.S. in 2014, in Berks County, Pennsylvania. It is now considered an invasive species throughout not only southeastern Pennsylvania, but Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. They are a huge threat to agriculture throughout the areas they invade.

The adult Spotted Lanternfly is round or oval in shape when at rest, when their wings are spread they resemble a butterfly. They are 1 inch long and approximately 1/2 inch wide with black and white spots and red, black and light brown coloring. They have 6 legs and no antennae. Spotted lanternflies get their name from the distinguishable black spots on their front wings as adults. Adult SLF have spotted forewings that cover brightly-colored hind wings. Spotted lanternfly nymphs are usually 1/8 to 1/2 inch in size with white-spotted, black bodies changing to bright red coloration in older nymphs. Adults are larger than nymphs, around 1 inch in length and an inch and a half wide when wings are spread. The adults are typically easier to find because of their size, coloration, and increased mobility.

Spotted lanternflies are a type of planthopper and although they have wings, they only fly short distances and primarily jump or walk. Spotted lanternflies lay their eggs in the fall and hatch in the spring. They lay their eggs on hard surfaces, such as homes, trees, rocks, etc. and lay an average of 30-50 eggs at a time. Spotted lanternflies go through several stages as an immature nymph, in which they grow wings and change color. Adult spotted lanternflies emerge in the summer and their entire lifespan usually lasts around one year. Spotted lanternflies feed on both woody plants and non-woody plants, including trees and a variety of plant species.

Spotted lanternflies do not bite or sting humans, but they are a major destructive pest. They are a huge agricultural threat to plants and trees such as grapes, hops and hardwoods, causing costly damage. They are also a nuisance and can affect the quality of life in the areas they invade because they are a nuisance and will congregate in large numbers. Spotted lanternflies harm their host plants by feeding on the plant’s sap, leading to weeping wounds of sap and mold, which can result in stunted growth or even plant death.

Stinging Insects

 Bees can be found anywhere in North America, where flowers bloom. From forests to farms, from cities to wildlands, there are 4,000 native bee species in the United States, from tiny to large carpenter bees. Bees come in a wide array of sizes, shapes, and colors. They are also varied in their behavior, the places they frequent, the type nests they build, the flowers they visit, and their times of activity. Both bees and wasps have species that are solitary or social (living together and sharing the rearing and provisioning). For example, both bumble bees and yellow jacket wasps are social and have an annual colony, where a queen builds a nest, collects food, and lays eggs.

 There are many species of North American bumble bees. Many people are familiar with bumble bees. They are large, furry, and mostly black with stripes of yellow, white, or even bright orange.

Carpenter Bees

 Carpenter bees are typically large and black. It is often challenging to them apart from bumble bees except for one very distinctive feature: bumble bees are fuzzy all over, while the upper abdomen of carpenter bees is smooth and almost hairless. Male Carpenter bees do not have a stinger.

Honey bees

  Honey bees get their common name from the honey they produce using the nectar of flowers. They are highly social insects found all over the world and are extremely beneficial because of their role in pollination. Honey bees are usually orange to brown in color to sometimes black, and have an enlarged rear portion of the abdomen that is broadly banded with orange and brown, or brown and black and includes a visible stinger. Their bodies are mostly covered with pale hair.

Paper wasps

 Paper wasps live throughout the US and can be identified by their 0.5-1.5 inch long reddish brown or black body, and the yellow rings around their abdomens. Paper wasps are often mistaken for bees, but they lack bees’ characteristically fuzzy bodies. These wasps their name from the way that they create paper from chewing wood and vegetation that they then use to make their nests. Cited as resembling an upside-down umbrella held up by a single stalk. Paper wasps can sting people when their nest is approached or threatened.

Yellow Jackets

  Eastern yellow jackets are a ground-nesting species of wasp that are commonly found throughout the eastern US. Yellow jackets are common and are found in all manner of woodlands, lawns, and can even make their nests inside homes. Eastern yellow jackets are identified by their striking black and yellow markings, with a mostly yellow face. Yellow jackets can often become very aggressive if their nest is disturbed, and will attempt to deliver painful stings as a result.

Mud Daubers

 Mud daubers are long, skinny mostly black wasps about 1 inch long. The name refers to the nests they construct, which is built of mud molded into place by the wasps. Mud daubers are not usually aggressive, but can become angry when disturbed. Stings are not common.

Bald Faced Hornet

 The bald-faced hornet has a black and mostly hairless body with white patches on its head and thorax and three white stripes around the end of its abdomen. The bald-faced hornet lives in a nest constructed of woody materials that have been chewed and mixed with the wasp’s saliva to form a gray, paper-like material. They form initially as a small structure but grow throughout the summer as the colony gets larger and larger. A nest left alone until the end of the summer may be an ovoid globe that is two feet high and a foot and a half across.

Cicada Killer Wasps

 Cicada Killer Wasps are solitary wasps that appear during the summer months. The female Cicada Killer Wasp is equipped to sting and eject venom into cicadas in order to feed them to their larvae. They will only sting people if caught in clothing or are caught by your bare hands. They are content with simply digging their holes and hunt for cicadas. The male Cicada Killers are smaller and will generally only defend their territory from other intruding males. A Cicada Killer will be up to 1.5 inches long, and the males are a little smaller than the females. They have a black abdomen with yellow markings and an orange tint to the wings. Cicada Killer Wasps are often confused for hornets or European wasps. 

Digger Wasps

 The common name Digger Wasp may refer to any member of a number of thread-waisted wasp families. In some instances, digger wasps will settle for space in and among mulch or pine straw, although they would prefer to dig a tunnel in the dirt or between the cover of grass or other plants. Digger wasps resemble social wasps in appearance with their yellow and black patterns although they can be distinguished from social wasps as the wings are not folded lengthwise when at rest. 

 Stink Bugs

The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is considered an invasive species, or a pest of foreign origin, as it was introduced to the United States from Eastern Asia in the mid-1990s. It is also referred to as the yellow-brown or East Asian stink bug. The bug was first collected in the United States in Allentown, PA in the fall of 1996, but apparently not recognized or identified until September 2001. It quickly spread east to New Jersey, then Virginia by 2004, and now southward to the North Carolina border. Today, brown marmorated stink bugs are most prevalent in the mid-Atlanta region, but they have been identified in 44 states and the District of Columbia. The bug’s native range includes China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

The stink bug earned its name from its tendency to release an odor when disturbed or when crushed. Many other insects have these same characteristics, including some species of ants, beetles and other bugs. 

Stink bugs are described in several different ways. They are characterized as both “large, oval-shaped insects” and “shield-shaped insects.” Adult stink bugs can reach almost 2 cm in length. They are nearly as wide as they are long. Their legs extend from the sides, so this makes the adult bugs appear even larger. The brown marmorated stink bug is a brownish stink bug. It has lighter bands on the antennae and darker bands on the wings.

Adult stink bugs are good fliers and fold their wings on top of their body when they land. Nymphs do not have fully developed wings. The wings appear when the nymph becomes an adult. Fully developed wings are a way to identify adult stink bugs.

Immature stink bugs, called nymphs, are very tiny when they hatch from their eggs. Nymphs of the brown marmorated stink bug are yellow and red. As they grow, the yellow fades to white. They have bright red eyes during the nymph stage of their life cycle. The nymphs molt or shed their skin five times. Each time a stink bug nymph molts, it becomes larger. By the last molt, the nymphs are almost as large as adult stink bugs.

 Termites

So what are termites and what do they do? Termites are a rather unique species of insect that cause billions of dollars in damage each year in the U.S. They primarily feed on wood- (well, the cellulose that is contained in wood), but can also damage paper, books, and insulation. Termites are capable of injuring living trees and shrubs, but are more often a secondary invader of woody plants already in decline. Termites in this climate that are not winged are completely subterranean. The spring season is normally when large numbers of winged termites, known as "swarmers," tend to emerge from the ground as part of the colonies breeding process. Triggered by warmer temperatures and rainfall, the winged termites emerge from the colony and fly into the air. The swarmers then drop to the ground, shed their wings, pair off with a mate, and attempt to begin new colonies in the soil. The termite swarmers that emerge are not the the ones that cause the actual damage to wooden structures and only live for about a day. While the sight of them inside can be distressing, they are certainly treatable. Discovering winged termites indoors almost always indicates an infestation warranting treatment. Since the swarmers are attracted to light, they often are seen around windows and doors. People often confuse winged termites with ants, which will often swarm at the same time of year. Termites have straight antennae, a two segmented body with a uniformly thickened waist, and wings of equal size. Conversely, ants have elbowed antennae, a 3 segmented body, constricted waists, and a set of forewings that are longer than the hind wings.

 Other signs of infestation are earthen “mud” tubes extending over any exposed are the termites may be traveling through. These mud tubes are typically about the diameter of a pencil, but sometimes can be thicker. Termites construct the tubes for shelter as they travel between their underground colonies and the structure since excessive light is harmful to the workers. Since in PA they are mostly subterranean, termite infestations are difficult to find and may be active for years before any sign is seen inside the home. Termite-damaged wood is hollowed out along the grain, with bits of dried mud or soil lining the feeding galleries. Wood damaged by moisture or other types of insects (carpenter ants, for example) will not look quite the same.

Ticks 

 Ticks are arachnids, typically 3 to 5 mm long. Ticks are external parasites, living by feeding on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians.

 The American Dog Tick can be found across the continent on dogs, coyotes, bears and any other warm-bodied host that happens to walk by. While some ticks carry the bacterium that are known for causing Lyme disease in humans the Dog Tick is not one of them.

The American Deer Tick or black-legged tick, is known in some parts of the US as the bear tick. It is a hard-bodied tick found in the eastern and northern Midwest of the United States as well as in southeastern Canada. It is a vector for several diseases of animals, including humans (Lyme disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, Powassan virus disease, etc.) and is known as the deer tick owing to its habit of parasitizing the white-tailed deer.