Decision guides and identification
How to get rid of common pests — and how to tell look-alikes apart
Start with rats, mice, or cockroaches if that is what you searched, then open the species article. Comparison guides split look-alikes so you do not treat the wrong animal.
How to get rid of…
How to get rid of rats
If you searched how to get rid of rats, you do not have one pest. The United States has two commensal rats that use buildings: the Norway…
How to get rid of mice
If you searched how to get rid of mice, identify the rodent before you buy bait. A house mouse in a kitchen is an exclusion-and-trapping…
How to get rid of cockroaches
Cockroach is not one job. A German cockroach infestation is a kitchen and appliance story. An American cockroach infestation is often a…
Identification and look-alikes
Yard rodent identification
A hole in the yard is not one pest. Norway rats burrow at dumpsters and slabs. Voles run on the grass. Chipmunks stack neat holes at a…
House centipede vs millipede
After rain, people find many-legged animals and search both names. A house centipede is a fast wall hunter. A millipede is a slow coil of…
Fruit fly vs fungus gnat vs drain fly
Tiny flies are not one kitchen fogger job. Fruit flies hover on fermenting produce. Fungus gnats run on wet potting soil. Drain flies rest…
Fire ant mound identification
This guide is the mound: shape, what happens when you disturb it, and when the pile of dirt is a different ant. Broadcast bait, mound…
Black widow look-alikes
Most dark cobweb spiders in US buildings are not black widows. False identification drives panic spraying and missed meter boxes. This…
Drywood vs subterranean vs dampwood termites
Wrong termite group is a wrong four-figure invoice. Subterranean colonies live in soil and build tubes. Drywood colonies live in the…
Sowbug vs pillbug
Sowbugs and pillbugs are crustaceans, not insects. Pillbugs (roly-polies) roll into a ball. Sowbugs usually cannot. They share habitat and…
European hornet vs yellowjacket
Late-summer “kill the hornet” searches mix two jobs. Yellowjackets scavenge picnics and often nest in the ground. European hornets are…
Powderpost beetle vs old house borer
Shot-holes in oak are not oval holes in pine. Powderpost beetles and old house borers both live in wood, both get blamed on termites, and…
For every other pest, start in the pest directory or a control method.