Bugs A to Z: Household Pests and Other Common Bugs

Flies & Gnats

• 6 legsFruit FliesDrosophila spp. (mainly D. melanogaster)A tiny fly with a tan front half, a darker rear and bright red eyes that hovers around ripe fruit, wine or the trash can.
• 6 legsFungus GnatsSciaridae (dark-winged fungus gnats)A slender black fly with long legs and antennae that flutters weakly around the soil surface of houseplants.
• 6 legsDrain FliesPsychodidae (moth flies; e.g. Psychoda spp., Clogmia albipunctata)A tiny gray, hairy fly with wide moth-like wings folded roof-style over its body, usually resting on bathroom walls near a drain.

Ants

• 6 legsAntsFormicidaeWingless workers with a pinched waist and elbowed antennae, often marching in a single-file trail toward sweets or grease.

Cockroaches

• 6 legsCockroachesBlattella germanica (German cockroach) and Periplaneta americana (American cockroach)German: light brown, about 1/2 inch, with two dark stripes behind the head; American: reddish-brown, up to 2 inches, with a pale band around the edge of the shield behind the head.

Bed Bugs, Fleas & Lookalikes

• 6 legsBed BugsCimex lectulariusAn apple-seed-sized, flat, oval reddish-brown bug with no wings, usually found along mattress seams together with tiny dark fecal spots and pale shed skins.
• 6 legsFleasCtenocephalides felis (cat flea), the main flea on U.S. cats and dogsA pinhead-sized, reddish-brown insect flattened side to side that jumps instead of flying, often spotted on pets or on white socks around the ankles.
• 6 legsCarpet BeetlesDermestidae (mainly Anthrenus verbasci, Anthrenus flavipes, Attagenus unicolor)Adults are rounded, ladybug-shaped beetles smaller than a grain of rice, often mottled white, brown and yellow, usually found on windowsills; larvae are small, hairy, striped 'fuzzy worms'.

Spiders & Centipedes

• 8 legsSpidersAraneae (common U.S. household spiders)Eight legs, two body sections (a front part bearing the legs and a rounded abdomen), and no wings or antennae. Insects have six legs and three body sections.
• 8 legsBrown RecluseLoxosceles reclusaUniformly tan to brown legs and abdomen with no stripes, bands or spines. A dark violin-shaped mark on the front body section, with the violin's neck pointing back. Six eyes in three pairs, which you need a hand lens to see.
• 8 legsWolf SpidersLycosidae (e.g. Hogna carolinensis, Tigrosa aspersa)A large, hairy brown-to-gray spider that runs along floors. Its legs often have lighter bands, and its eyes shine green in a flashlight beam at night. Females may carry spiderlings on their backs.
• 8 legsBlack Widow SpidersLatrodectus spp. (L. mactans, L. variolus, L. hesperus)Adult female: a shiny jet-black spider with a large, round abdomen and a red-to-orange hourglass mark on the underside. Young spiders and males are smaller and tan or gray with light stripes.
• Many legsHouse CentipedeScutigera coleoptrataA flattened yellowish-gray body about an inch long with three dark stripes and 15 pairs of very long, banded legs that make it look 3-4 inches across.

Bees & Stinging Insects

• 6 legsCarpenter BeesXylocopa virginica (eastern carpenter bee)A bumble-bee-sized bee whose upper abdomen is shiny, bare black instead of fuzzy, often hovering near a round 1/2-inch hole in wood with sawdust below.

Termites & Wood/Paper Pests

• 6 legsSubterranean TermitesReticulitermes flavipes (eastern subterranean termite); also Coptotermes formosanus (Formosan subterranean termite)Swarmers are small dark-brown to black insects with straight beaded antennae, a thick waist and four equal-length wings that break off easily; workers are soft and creamy white.
• 6 legsSilverfishLepisma saccharinum (often written L. saccharina)A shiny silver-gray, wingless insect shaped like a teardrop, with long antennae and three thin tail bristles, that darts away quickly when uncovered.

Mice & Rodents

• 4 legsHouse MouseMus musculusA small, slender gray-to-light-brown mouse with large ears and a nearly hairless tail about as long as its body, leaving rice-sized dark droppings along walls.

Garden & Overwintering Pests

• 6 legsBrown Marmorated Stink BugHalyomorpha halysA shield-shaped, mottled brown bug about 5/8 inch long with white bands on its antennae and alternating light and dark bands along the edge of the abdomen.
• 6 legsBoxelder BugBoisea trivittataA flat black bug about 1/2 inch long with three red-orange stripes behind the head and red-orange edges on its wings.
• 6 legsAphidsAphidoidea (many species)Pear-shaped, usually green, with two tiny tubes sticking out the back end, often packed together on the newest growth.

Mosquitoes, Ticks & Chiggers

• 8 legsTicksIxodidae (hard ticks): blacklegged/deer tick Ixodes scapularis, lone star tick Amblyomma americanum, American dog tick Dermacentor variabilisA flat, teardrop-shaped body with eight legs and no visible separate head. Lone star females have a single white dot on the back, dog ticks have whitish patterning, and blacklegged females are reddish-orange with black legs.
• 6 legsMosquitoesCulicidae (mainly Culex, Aedes, Anopheles spp. in the U.S.)A slender fly with long, thin legs and a long, needle-like beak that lands on skin to feed. The wings are covered in tiny scales.
• 6 legsChiggersTrombiculidae (larval mites; e.g. Eutrombicula alfreddugesi)Usually seen only as clusters of very itchy red bumps around the ankles, waistband or other tight-clothing spots that appear a few hours after being outdoors. The mite itself is a reddish-orange speck barely visible to the eye.

Seasonal Pest Calendar

Pests that stay active indoors all year without a clear peak (such as German cockroaches and silverfish) are left off the calendar.