Guides
How to identify household pests
What it looks like, what it is not, and what to do next. Identification is a field check, not a diagnosis.
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Bed bug vs carpet beetle
Carpet beetle larvae eat wool and hair in closets. Bed bugs take blood in mattress seams. Fuzzy larva vs flat apple-seed. Confirm the insect before a heat job. Typical US ID check, not a species certificate.
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Flying ants vs termites
Flying ants have a pinched waist, bent antennae, and longer front wings. Termite swarmers have a thick waist, straight antennae, and four wings the same length. Indoor equal-length wings usually mean the house is infested. Typical US ID check, not a species certificate.
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How to get rid of bed bugs
Getting rid of bed bugs takes weeks because eggs hatch later. Confirm the insect, island the bed, hot-dry fabric. Foggers and throwing the mattress waste the week. Typical US ranges, not a bid.
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How to get rid of bed bugs in an apartment
Apartment bed bugs take a building plan: confirm the insect, write the landlord, encase the bed, and get adjacent units looked at. Do not fog. Do not move to the couch. Not legal advice.
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How to get rid of termites
Getting rid of termites in a house is a soil job or a wood job, not a can along the baseboard. Confirm the insect, photograph, get wood off the soil. Typical US ranges, not a bid.
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Mouse droppings vs rat droppings
Mouse droppings look like rice grains, 1/8 to 1/4 inch, in a line. Rat droppings look like 1/2 to 3/4 inch capsules in a pile. That split picks the trap you buy. Typical US ID check, not a diagnosis.
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Pest droppings guide
Pest droppings guide: pepper specks in a cabinet are usually German roach. Rice grains along a wall are usually mouse. Capsule piles on a floor or rafter are usually rat. Open that sibling. Typical US ID check, not a species certificate.
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Roach droppings: pepper specks, ridges, and mouse lookalikes
German roaches leave pepper-like specks and smears in cabinet tracks. Larger species leave ridged pellets with blunt ends. Mouse pellets are smoother and usually pointed.
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Signs of bed bugs
Signs of bed bugs are live insects, dark fecal dots that smear like a marker, shed skins, and eggs in mattress piping. Bites are not proof. Typical US ID check, not a diagnosis.
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Signs of termite damage in wood
Termite-damaged wood is hollowed along the grain, often with dried mud in the galleries, while the painted face still looks intact. Carpenter ants leave smooth tunnels and a sawdust dump. Typical US ID check, not a structural report.
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Signs of termites in walls
Signs of termites in walls are a hollow tap on trim, paint that blisters with no leak, and a sand pile under a pin-hole. Leave the drywall closed. Typical US ID check, not a WDO inspection.
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Tiny black bugs in the bathroom
Tiny black bugs in the bathroom are usually moth flies from drain film or springtails on wet tile. Tape the drain overnight. Bleach does not scrape the slime. Typical US ID check, not a diagnosis.
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What are termite mud tubes?
Termite mud tubes are pencil-width soil lines from ground to wood. Break one inch and wait. A repair or live workers means the colony is still using the route. Typical US ID check, not a WDO inspection.
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What are the signs of termites?
Signs of termites start at the soil line: pencil-width mud tubes, indoor swarmers or a pile of equal-length wings, and wood hollowed along the grain. Typical US ID check, not a WDO inspection.
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What do bed bug bites look like?
Bed bug bites are usually itchy red welts that show up hours to days later on skin that was uncovered while you slept. Some people never mark. Bites are not proof. Not medical advice.
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What do mouse droppings look like?
Mouse droppings look like dark rice grains, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch long with pointed ends, usually along a wall or in a drawer. Typical US ID check, not a diagnosis.
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What do rat droppings look like?
Rat droppings look like dark capsules about 1/2 to 3/4 inch long. A pile on the floor or by a burrow is a Norway rat. A pile on a rafter is a roof rat. Typical US ID check, not a diagnosis.
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When do termites swarm
Termites swarm in spring, often in daylight after rain. Gulf Formosan termites fly at dusk from April through June, peaking around early May. Indoor wings mean a colony already in or under the house. Typical US ID check, not a WDO inspection.
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