This insect is the most destructive of all insects. Termites cause billions of dollars of damage each year. This little insect can stop the sale of a property in it's tracks because of the structural damage it does. Termites are a social insect that live in large colonies underground or in wood. These colonies can number in the tens of thousands. This insect has been around for 250 million years. Termites can damage a structure for years without the owner knowing that a problem exists.

The usual signs include mud tubes and wings found by the homeowner but not usually associates with the presence of Termites. Termite swarmers (reproducers) are 3/8" long including the wings with a dark brown or black color.

This bee gets it's name from it's habit of boring into wood. Unlike the Yellow Jacket this is not a social insect. The Carpenter Bee will nest alone but it will nest in the same area as others. Their nesting sites are in boards, soffits, rake boards, and around gutter areas. There will be yellowish brown stains around the nesting areas. Carpenter bees can resemble a bumblebee. They are a 1/2" to 1 long with robust a robust body which is yellow and black and color. These insects can become aggressive and the female can inflict a nasty sting.

The most common species seen in the home is the house centipede. This insect can be found throughout the house, but mostly seen in the

This insect can become a nuisance in the summertime. They can be found in the kitchen, bathrooms, basements, potted plants, around pools, shed and on lawn furniture. The size of the earwig is 1/4" to 1" inch long with forceps like pinchers that can pinch you. The earwig feeds on insects and plants and it can damage vegetables, fruits and flowers.

A nuisance ant that nests in rugs, wall voids, electrical outlets, walkways, patios, lawns, driveways, and foundation slabs. This ant does not do structural damage to wood. The pavement ant can sting leaving an itchy red welt. The size of the pavement ant is 1/16" to 1/8" in length. There are different forms of pavement ants. "Workers" have no wings, "Reproducers" have wings. The color of this ant is light brown to black. The size of the colony can be up to 4,000 ants with several queens. Pavement ants eat other insects, honey dew excretion from plant lice, seeds, plants and all household foods.

This insect gets its name from the very fine powder like debris it creates when feeding on wood. This is one of the three wood destroying insects ( Termites, Carpenter Ants & Powder Post Beetles ). The size of the adult beetle is 1/32" to 1 inch in length. The color can be reddish brown to black.

This insect can be found from the basement to the attic. The silverfish is 1/2" to 3/4" inch long. The color is silvery to gun metal and is scaled. This is where the name comes from. The silverfish causes damage to stored boxes, papers, binding, sizing on wall paper, backing on insulation and feeds on their own. This insect can build up to large numbers in homes and offices.

This species of ant can become bothersome because it nests in rotted wood, bathtraps, behind tile walls, damp crawl spaces, wood voids, under slabs and hollow block foundations. The size of this ant is 1/16" to 1/4" inch. The color runs from yellowish red to dark brown. "Workers" have no wings, "Reproducers" have wings. Workers give off a strong citronella odor when disturbed or crushed. Colony size can be 40,000 to 80,000 with one queen. Yellow ants feed mostly on honeydew from plant lice. They may sometimes feed on household foods.

This is the insect that can ruin a cookout on a midsummer day. Yellow jackets are a social insect with colonies that can number up to 4000 at their peak. They can nest in the ground, in a tree or shrubs. They also like to nest in wall voids of buildings, homes and campers. Yellow jackets are 3/8" to 5/8" long. Their typical black and yellow pattern gives them their name. This insect is considered beneficial because they feed on other insects, but they can be quite aggressive and sting many times , inflicting great pain. Some people are hypersensitive to their sting and in some cases a sting can be life threatening.