r/pestcontrol Jun 17 '26

Wasp / Yellow Jacket Control

3 Upvotes

r/pestcontrol May 30 '26

Tick Control and Prevention

4 Upvotes

With Alpha-gal Syndrome (and Lyme disease) in the news, here's about all you can do to protect yourself:

Ticks & Fleas Outside (link)


r/pestcontrol 4h ago

Is it a roach?

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4 Upvotes

Best picture I could get. Is this a roach and if so is it a German or American baby? The antenna is kind of long so part of me is relying on that to see say it’s not a roach. But…maybe wishful thinking?


r/pestcontrol 16h ago

Feeling terrible - purchased 1st home possible German roach infestation

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30 Upvotes

Sorry for the long post ahead..
We just purchased our first home, we did everything leading up to closing as we should we got a general inspection, plumbing inspection, termite inspection and all came back clear and with very little things that needed to be taken care of. We went from renting, we were comfortable at our other place but wanted to find a house with a nice yard and a home that could be ours. We have young kids as well. We walked through the home about 4 times before closing, we did initial walk through then came in two other times to measure and then final walkthrough 3 days before closing. I noticed they had glade plug ins throughout the property and it was so strong I was like I am definitely taking those out before moving in, but thats all you could smell was glade. The seller apparently bought the house 2.5 years ago, ”re did the interior” and rented it and then decided to sell it now. House was on the market for over 60 days because they priced high, so it sat vacant. So great we get everything done and taken care of, the house a little bit out of our budget but we made it work because initially we thought we have minimal work that needs to be done to it. So we close on the house 2 days ago on Monday. I left the closing, came straight in and wanted to clean the house because we had little time to be able to move before my husband went back to work and we have 10 days left in our rental before there is a new tenant. I went immediately to the kitchen. I noticed a dead bug in the corner I was like okay that’s fine maybe came in from people coming in and out. I didn’t look at it too much I just wiped it up. I moved an foot down the counter and there is another one. Im like hmm, I continue on and I find 4 dead bugs flipped upside down on the counter all the same type of bug so I am suspicious at this point like it’s not a one off that flew in. so I take a picture of it and upload it to Google… this is where I about died inside. it said “German cockroach.” so I go balls to the wall and I start opening cabinets to look inside I see black flecks in the corners of the cabinets and what looks to be like grease and dirt over all of the hinges. I open up the cabinets next to the stove one crawled out and it smelled disgusting, it smelled musty and that had the most dirt on the hinges. so at this point I just start crying, I just bought the biggest purchase of my life so far and there might be a cockroach infestation… not to mention I have kids and I don’t want them living in this. I took pictures of everything, I pulled the oven tray out and sure enough… 2 combat max roach bait trays under there with a few dead roaches around it. I pulled the fridge out there was dirt, combat max trays and some flipped over dead roaches. I open up the kitchen cabinets and up top there was more combat max bait trays. on top of the fridge more combat max bait trays with dead roaches next to it. I decided to look in the bathroom so I pulled the bathroom cabinet drawers out and sure enough brown flecks and a few dead roaches. I have 7 days left in my rental we already moved everything here I haven’t unpacked a single thing, and we aren’t using the kitchen yet since finding the bugs. I am so upset and feeling huge remorse and almost as if I made a bad decision purchasing this home and choosing to move my kids here instead of just staying in the rental we had because now we are stuck and I am terrified at the thought of having to put all our pantry products in bags and not be able to set plates down in the kitchen for however long we live here. not to mention I unplugged the glade plug ins and every time you walk in it smells musty. I have yet to see anymore live ones but finding a lot of traces of them and I am scared about bringing food in here or unpacking anything here and it drawing them out. None of this was mentioned by the seller, inspectors or nor were there any visible bugs when walking through. I would have never purchased. the home if I knew there was a possible cockroach infestation, and finding the trays it makes me feel like they knew about this. We called an exterminator and are having the place bombed Saturday but still feeling horrible that this might not be the end and I potentially just moved my children and my family into a place where we can’t really live. I feel like the kitchen is dirty and cant for see myself feeling comfortable enough to cook in there. I attached pictures to show. If you have any experience with a situation like this can you please share your experience - please no mean comments I suffer with ocd and specifically contamination and I am really struggling mentally for what’s ahead.


r/pestcontrol 2h ago

General Question I’m leaving behind a bug infestation. Any tips?

2 Upvotes

Currently living in an apartment that’s infested with roaches, but am moving to a new place in September! I’ve asked the landlords to deal with it many times, but they won’t do anything other than send bug control (who aren’t doing anything other than spraying). I want to start preparing myself for the move, but idk what all I can keep/discard.

Do you guys have any tips on steps I should take, what I should chuck, and what I can keep? Any advice would be hugely helpful for the coming months!


r/pestcontrol 2h ago

Bookworms? Or something else, how do I deal with this?

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2 Upvotes

I just noticed this dust on and around some of my books on a bottom shelf. I then found a little hole at the top of a book and what looks to be a dead larva of some sort. After doing some googling I think it looks like a bookworm hole but I’m not sure. What is the best way to isolate and exterminate the bugs with preferably minimal damage to the books? How far do I have to worry about them having spread? This shelf is on floor level and it’s the only place I have seen signs of bugs, how far could the be spread across the bookcase and to books set on the floor next to it. Also this is right next to my bed could they have gotten into there?


r/pestcontrol 57m ago

Identification Any idea what this tiny bug could be please? It was really small, looks black with white stripes.

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Upvotes

r/pestcontrol 7h ago

What kind of ant is this? Why did they come in the house out of nowhere and how to get rid of them?

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3 Upvotes

No ants yesterday, today we woke up to about 20 of them. Nothing has changed other than the garbage disposal broke lol but the ant aren’t in the kitchen, they’re in the hall. We can’t see where they’re coming and going from. They’re big and I don’t think they’re fire ants.
Thanks in advance


r/pestcontrol 1h ago

I've tried 3 different ant bait treatments with no luck

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Upvotes

They're very small so its hard to get a clean picture. They seem to have black heads with white-ish rears. Ive tried Terro, Combat Max 2-in-1, and something that starts with an A that my building maintenance used. So far they completely ignore it all.


r/pestcontrol 1h ago

Roommates cats causing fleas 😵‍💫

Upvotes

My roommate has 4 partially outdoor cats all with fleas. I dont let the cats go in my room but Ive started to see fleas in my room.
She wont treat her cats. What can I do for my bedroom? Everything im reading says you have to start with the pets...


r/pestcontrol 2h ago

Why are these ants carrying eggs (?) out into the open?

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1 Upvotes

I started seeing a few ants now and then near my front double door on the inside. (Half always closed). But today to my horror, I discovered a ton of them all seem to be scurrying about not carrying food. But carrying what appears to be eggs (small white sacs). And I see them on the floor near the door, amongst other debris they must have dug up.

I’ve put some ant baits there now. But I’m curious on why they are doing this. Isn’t it weird to be putting eggs not in the nest? And there isn’t any food source near my front door.

Will baits be sufficient? Is this situation indicative of some bigger hidden issue? At least they are not termites right?


r/pestcontrol 2h ago

Identification Mouse droppings? Cockroach? Termite?

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1 Upvotes

Eastern PA. This is in my detached garage. I clean it up and it's back a few days later. Very small droppings with some other debris mixed in.


r/pestcontrol 2h ago

First roach sighting what now?

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1 Upvotes

Split it in half but pretty sure it’s a German roach? Live in NYC. I had a large adult American roach randomly in my apt back in May. Never had any issues before or since. Exterminator came and placed traps, all traps are still empty and this is the first time I’ve noticed anything since then. I bought the avion gel, gentron, drain covers, and have exterminator coming tomorrow. Anything else I should do moving forward or things I should make sure the exterminator gets done while here?


r/pestcontrol 6h ago

General Question Most cost-effective spices to stop squirrels from tearing up lawn

2 Upvotes

I've tried everything at this point aside from poison and/or air rifles (wife is worried I'll get in trouble by shooting/poisoning the rats); I've tried mesh, I've tried distractions, I've tried rat traps, I've tried ultrasonic noise emitters + flashing lights, I've tried pest repellent sprays and I've tried live trapping... While the latter seems to be effective in the short term, as I've caught & relocated about 10 squirrels at this point, they're permanently in the area, as new squirrels take the place of old ones since my neighbours feed these tree rats for fun. The only method I've had that keeps them away for the most part (until I water the lawn/it rains) is spices... But raiding the pantry every so often isn't entirely cheap, given how pricey some spices can get!

They don't even dig to bury food stuff, I've found wood chips and leaves stuffed into these ripped up holes in my lawn or the odd peanut *shell* (they're empty almost every time I've looked) and it's fatiguing just how persistent these shits are! We're expecting our first child this year and our yard was previously just barren backfill, but I wanted a green lawn for our daughter to play in, but the damage these things keep doing to the grass is pretty much unreasonable (part of me is hoping they're going to calm down by next year, since the grass *is* a new addition for this season) and I can't help but get frustrated that a swarm of rats is tearing up all my hard work, day-after-bloody-day, that I've put in to have a beautiful play area for our child come next year.

Anyone have a recommendation for spices that I can apply to my lawn that are cheap and still do the job of repelling? Thanks in advance!


r/pestcontrol 6h ago

General Question How can I safely move / get rid of a yellow jacket colony?

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2 Upvotes

So, I have a large cloth travel bag to carry two cornhole boards on my deck. When I picked it up to move it, that’s when I discovered there are a ton of yellow jackets (or similar) inside. A bunch came flying out and I got stung right above the eye. It appears I didn’t zip the bag completely and they’ve been hanging out in the bag, for up to a couple months since I last played cornhole.

Hopefully they’re not destroying my beautiful American flag cornhole boards. I’m nervous if I try to open the bag to let them free, I’ll get swarmed.

Any suggestions? Would a 2 or 3-foot yellow jacket / hornet spray be able to get through a thick cloth bag and help solve the problem?


r/pestcontrol 3h ago

What kind of roach is this?

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1 Upvotes

Saw this for the first time in my bathroom today. I live in south Louisiana for context


r/pestcontrol 3h ago

Does This Indicate Bed Bugs or no?

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0 Upvotes

Here are some images - some removed from my bedding and some on my bedding. Please let me know if this os evidence of bed bugs or not thanks


r/pestcontrol 3h ago

Cockroach survived spray?

1 Upvotes

I sprayed it and it went upside down, flailing legs around which was the classic dying sign. It was like that for 2 hours and suddenly it was gone?? I have no pets and I don't think anything could move it. My suspicion is it managed to flip back and crawl away? ..Which is unsual because usually they're done for when they're overturned! I'm so scared.


r/pestcontrol 3h ago

Identification Ensign Wasp or different species

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1 Upvotes

Hello, I'm in SW missouri, found one of these guys flying around and think Ive gotten a couple more dead in my sink, worried it's an ensign wasp and we therefore have roaches. Pretty small, maybe grain of rice sized.


r/pestcontrol 3h ago

Identification Flea Guide

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1 Upvotes

My little flea guide for folks to use!


r/pestcontrol 4h ago

Green bottle fly infestation. Please help

1 Upvotes

We live in a very airy well lit 4th floor apartment. Our outdoor balconies are attached to next door neighbours. Asked the neighbour who said they have one or two flies everyday- not more- which makes me think this is an us issue.

Last summer we had a fly or two inside the home everytime we opened windows.

This summer it started with similar number.

Then all of a sudden I saw hundreds of maggots under my shaggy decorative rugs (not integrated into the floor. I have laminate flooring). Took the rugs outside. Thoroughly cleaned them. Killed all the maggots.

Can’t see any more maggots in them no matter how many times I have checked.

This was over 1.5 weeks ago. Now my entire living room and kitchen is full of green flies.

They are easy to swat, makes an annoying buzzing sound. We are keeping all windows closed and thoroughly cleaned several times. We can’t find the source.

Killing 50-60 every single day. Emptying garbage regularly. Just now poured boiling water down the drain despite these green house flies not living inside drains.

I am at my wits end. What to do next?

Will this keep increasing?

Will this ever go away?

We may shift house this winter. Will we carry the infestation into the new house?

The bugs are bugging me so badly, I feel like I will go crazy.


r/pestcontrol 4h ago

What’s in my outlet?

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1 Upvotes

Moved into a new home and noticed this outlet had a little space between the wall and outlet cover. What the heck is this?


r/pestcontrol 5h ago

Termites or carpenter bees damage?

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1 Upvotes

Just pulled my old stairs to my patio off and found this. I can tell part is moisture related but something did more damage.


r/pestcontrol 5h ago

Resolved Brown recluses on exterior, options for control/prevention?

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0 Upvotes

EDIT: Not a recluse, my bad, Thanks!

Hello! I found 3 brown recluse spiders on the exterior windows of my house in the woods in Alabama. I called my pest control company and they want to spray for everything out to 30 ft from the house with the intent of eliminating the food source. I live in the woods and get all kinds of cool bugs and useful spiders. I see two problems with that: 1. It would kill a lot of stuff I like to see, and 2. Bugs would certainly come back and the recluses would have a food source again quite rapidly.

I've seen some stuff saying that recluse bites are both more rare than people think and less serious than people think, but it also said that the main demographic where a systemic response that could cause death is in young children. I have an infant. https://extension.psu.edu/brown-recluse-spiders

My question is this: what can I do to reduce the risk of recluses inside and clear them away from the house that isn't nuking everything from orbit? I have delta dust that I used to spot treat wasp nests in the attic when they were getting aggressive and territorial. Would dusting all the recluse webs that I can find to eliminate babies do anything? I imagine there are more that I can't find. Would dusting the crawlspace and/or walls and attic be a useful preventative? I think I'm going to put down sticky traps inside to see if they're in the house. Would clearing out the garage make that a less inviting staging area? (I haven't seen any there yet, but I haven't looked that hard)

Are there other resources I can read to help decide how bad it is to have these things running around outside? Whatever I do I'll need to have my wife's buy-in so arguments and angles I haven't considered would be helpful.

Thanks!


r/pestcontrol 5h ago

Identification Animal dropping ID (FL)

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1 Upvotes

Just moved into new apartment (NE FL) which was vacant for several months. The screened in porch had a section that had popped out, leaving an opening. I noticed that there are droppings congregated right at the opening. Does anyone recognize the droppings? I’m concerned that an animal might be living in my porch now and don’t want to seal up the opening until we know.

I am worried they may be roof rat or bat droppings. I have sort of ruled out anole since the cloaca piece is not there, although that would be my preferred ID lol.

TIA!