Acrobat Ant

The Acrobat Ant, Crematogaster ashmeadi, is a medium-sized, mostly shiny ant with heart shaped abdomen that is often bent up over the thorax when ant is disturbed. Color variable from light reddish brown to brown or black. Slow to moderately fast moving ant. May forage in tight foraging trails similar to white-footed ant trails, but only acrobat ant bends the abdomen up over the thorax. Acrobat ants also run slower than white-footed ants when disturbed.

The Acrobat Ant is an arboreal ant, nesting in branches and stems and other cavities of trees and shrubs, rotten logs and stumps. In houses they will nest in damaged wood of porches, eaves, etc. Single queen per nest, but colonies occupy multiple nest sites. These ants are uncommon indoors and control should focus on limiting their access to structures.

Bald Face Hornet

This atypically large black-and-white yellowjacket gets its common name of baldfaced from its largely black color but mostly white face, and that of hornet because of its large size and aerial nest. Baldfaced hornets are found throughout the United States.

Adult workers about 5/8 – 3/4+” (15-20+ mm) long; queens about 3/4+” (20+ mm). Color black with white pattern on most of face, as 2 angled stripes on thorax towards head, and on last 3 abdominal segments. Head with clypeus (upper lip) broadly truncate, slightly notched at apex. Hind wing without a jugal lobe (lobe on rear near body). Pronotum in lateral view almost triangula, extending to teguls (structure at base of front wing) or nearly so. Middle tibia with 2 apical spurs. Builds paper enclosed aerial nest, grey in color.

Bald face Hornet Nest

The overwintering queen selects the nest site. This can vary from shrubs or vines at ground level to 66 ft (20 m) or higher in trees. Nests also may be built on overhangs, utility poles, houses, sheds, or other structures. Nearly all nests are constructed in exposed locations. At maturity, the nests can be quite impressive with sizes of up to 14″ (35 cm) in diameter and over 24″ (60+ cm) in length.

Often nests located in vegatation are not discovered until the leaves fall in the autumn. Nests are not reused the next season.

Black Widow Spider

Latrodectus mactans, the (southern) Black widow, are well known for the distinctive black and red coloring of the female of the species and for the fact that she will occasionally eat her mate after reproduction. The highly venomous species is native to the United States of America. The female black widow’s venom is particularly harmful to humans (males almost never bite humans). The injection of venom from these species is a comparatively dangerous or lethal bite.

Black widow spiders are nocturnal and, thus, are active at night. They prefer dark corners or crevices. They are said to avoid human dwellings, but you can find them in such areas as outhouses and garages. Only the female black widow bites humans, and she bites only when disturbed, usually while protecting her eggs.

Boxelder Bug

Boxelder bugs, Boisea (Leptocores) trivittata, are eliptical and about a half inch long. their body is either dark gray or black and have 3 red strips on the thorax. The female lays around 250 eggs at a time. when the Nymphs hatch they are bright red. The boxelder bug increases it's population around July to early September each year. Boxelder bugs do not bite or harm items around your home. They feed on the seeds of boxelder trees and sometimes ash and and maple trees. Their presence in our human world are just a nuisance. You may see them on winter days coming out of their over wintering locations to enjoy the sunshine of a warm day! They normally do not come inside your home. Most people find if they are inside, it is because there is an opening in a door or window.

Carpenter Ant

The most likely species to be infesting a house in the United States is the Black carpenter ant. They prefer dead, damp wood in which to build nests. Sometimes carpenter ants will hollow out sections of trees.

The Carpenter Ant resides both outdoors and indoors in moist, decaying or hollow wood. They cut “galleries” into the wood grain to provide passageways for movement from section to section of the nest. They can leave “sawdust” behind that provides clues to nesting location. If this wooden complex happens to be a wall frame within your home, structural damage may result. Moisture is the key component to look for when managing this species.

Carpet Beetle

The black carpet beetle, Attagenus megatoma, is a widely known stored product pest and one of the most destructive because the damage caused to household products containing keratin, which is a protein found in animal hair and feathers.[11][19] They are also able to burrow through various food packaging allowing passage for other insects as well.

The varied carpet beetle, Anthrenus verbasci, attacks typical household objects. Carpet beetles are normally associated with things such as carpets, wool, furs, and any processed animal or plant food. Their appetite also includes dead insects, spiders, and even nectar and pollen.

Fire Ant

Originally from South America. Fire Ants are Red or yellowish ants of small-to-medium size with a severe sting that burns. They normally feed on small insects but, with denser populations, they eat seeds and seedling plants, damage grain and vegetable crops, invade kitchens, attack newly hatched poultry and the young of ground-nesting wild birds.

Fire ants can kill newborn domestic and wild animals. Each colony is composed of a queen, winged males and females and 3 kinds of workers. A nest averages about 25,000 workers, but far larger populations are common.

Semi permanent nests are large mounds of excavated soil with openings for ventilation. Since nests may number 50-100 (or more) in a heavily infested field, cultivating becomes difficult (or impossible). Fire ants belong to the genus Solenopsis. The severe sting of this ant causes a pustule to form within 24 hours that takes 10-14 days to resolve. Fire ant toxin can trigger an allergic reaction, particularly in people allergic to bee, wasp and yellow jacket stings.

Avoidance and prompt treatment are essential.

Firebrat

The Firebrat is a small insect (typically 1-1.5 cm) similar to the Silverfish, both in the order Thysanura.

Firebrats prefer higher temperatures and require some humidity, and can be found in bakeries and near boilers or furnaces. They feed on a wide variety of carbohydrates and starches that are also protein sources such as flour and book bindings, and can go for as much as a year without eating. They are distributed throughout most parts of the world and are normally found outdoors under rocks, leaf litter, and similar, but are also often found indoors where they are considered pests. They are primarily a nuisance inside the home or buildings, as they do not cause major damage, though they can contaminate food, damage paper goods, and stain clothing. Otherwise they are mostly harmless.

German Cockroach

The German cockroach, Croton bug or Steam fly (Blattella germanica) is a small species of cockroach, measuring about 1.3 cm (0.51 in) to 1.6 cm (0.63 in) long. It can be tan through brown to almost black, and has two dark parallel streaks running from the head to the base of the wings. Although it has wings, it is unable to sustain flight. The German cockroach is one of the most common and prominent household cockroaches in the world, and can be found throughout many human settlements. These insects are particularly fond of inhabiting restaurants, food processing facilities, hotels, and nursing homes.

The German cockroach is very successful at establishing an ecological niche in buildings, and is very hardy and resilient against attempts at pest control. This cockroach is also smaller than many other species so it can more easily hide and fit into very small cracks and crevices to evade humans. That is also the main reason they can most effectively be controlled with bait in cracks and crevices near harborages. These type of pest control methods should kill 95% of the overall population in a property due to their fast reproductive cycles.

Silverfish

The Silverfish is a small, wingless insect typically measuring from a half to one inch
(12-25 mm). Its common name derives from the animal’s silvery blue color, combined with the fish-like appearance of its movements

The favorite food of silverfish is any matter that contains starch or polysaccharides, such as dextrin in adhesives. These include glue, book bindings, paper, photos, sugar, hair, and dandruff. Silverfish can also cause damage to books, tapestries, and textiles. Silverfish will commonly graze in and around showers, baths, and sinks on the cellulose present in many shampoos, shaving foams and so on. Apart from these cases, the damage caused by silverfish is negligible and they have no direct effect on human health beyond psychological distress to those who are frightened or disgusted by their appearance, or to those whose books have been destroyed by the creatures.

Silverfish can be found anywhere in homes including, but not limited to, garages, closets, underneath beds, couches, and in electrical appliances where food can be found, such as computer keyboards. They generally prefer dark areas.