Start Here.
Use this list to help identify many common pests in and around your home. Whether or not you can find your pest here, you can call us so we can eliminate them.
American Cockroach
American Cockroach
Size: 1 3/8" - 2 1/8"
Reddish-brown in color, and mostly found in restaurants, bakeries, and larger commercial buildings involved in food processing, the American cockroach is a true food pest. They can also be found in residences, where they usually infest the food storage and preparation areas. As a roach, they reproduce at a rapid rate, lay 100’s of eggs at a time, and must be treated promptly.
German Cockroach
German Cockroach
Size: 1/2" - 5/8"
Light brown to tan except for two dark stripes on its upper back, the German cockroach is the most common of the cockroaches. It has been implicated in outbreaks of illnesses, and has caused allergic reactions in many people. Roaches reproduce at a rapid rate, lay 100’s of eggs at a time, and must be treated promptly.
Oriental Cockroach
Oriental Cockroach
Size: 1" - 1 1/4"
Shiny black, but may vary to a dark, reddish-brown, the oriental cockroach commonly enters buildings via door thresholds, utility pipes, and floor drains. Often found in crawl spaces, basements, and on 1st floors, they are despised for their strong, roachy odor. Roaches reproduce at a rapid rate, lay 100’s of eggs at a time, and must be treated promptly.
House Cricket
House Cricket
Size: 3/4" - 7/8"
Typically gray or brownish in color, house crickets are nocturnal and usually hide in dark, warm places during the day. The familiar chirping sound is created by the male rubbing his front wings together. This is his mating call. Crickets seek moisture and tend to damage clothing by eating out large areas of the fabrics. They can survive cold winters in buildings and homes, making treatment critical in controlling an infestation.
Ground Beetle
Ground Beetle
Size: 1/16" - 1 3/8"
Color is almost uniformly black and shiny, often found under stone, bark, or logs, ground beetles are known to climb trees in search of food. They are a nuisance pest, and are found displaced in and around homes. They also give off a repugnant odor when handled or crushed.
Black Carpet Beetle
Ground Beetle
Size: 1/8" - 1/4"
Dark brown to black, Carpet beetles are known to attack carpeting, drapery, clothes, furs, fabric-covered furniture, and stored products. In the home pantry, they even seek food products including flour and cereals. Due to the longevity of their larvae, and long enduring nature, prompt treatment is very important.
Earwig
Earwig
Size: 1/4" - 1"
Pale brown with dark markings to uniformly reddish-brown to black, the Earwig obtains its name from an old European superstition that these insects enter the ears of sleeping people and then bore into the brain. Like stink bugs, they have an unpleasant odor that is released when they are crushed.
Box Elder Bug
Box Elder Bug
Size: 1/2"
Black with reddish lines on the dorsum, the box elder bug is a major pest of box elder trees. In the home, they are a nuisance pest because they enter structures to live through the winter, and harsh summer weather. Their damage can be extensive, resulting in red staining on curtains, clothing, and drapes. They can also bite, producing a red welt.
Deer Ticks
Deer Ticks
Size: 1/16" - 1/8"
Color is orangish-brown except for the legs, which are typically dark. As their name suggests, the adults attach themselves to a passing deer. In the Northeast and Midwest, they carry the spirochete for Lyme disease in humans.
Brown Dog Ticks
Brown Dog Ticks
Size: 1/8"
Brown in color, and more than doubling in size when engorged with blood, usually from dogs, these ticks increase in size up to 1/2". These pests are almost always associated with dogs, but have been termed as vectors for Rocky Mountain spotted fever and several other diseases. Brown dog ticks have a unique ability to adjust to various temperatures making them able to complete their life cycle indoors.
House Spider
House Spider
Size: 3/16" - 5/16"
Mostly known for making dirty white to brown colored webs, the house spider is most encountered inside the house. These spiders randomly select their web sites while looking for prey and, as a result, the webs can be found almost anywhere.
Reproductive Termite
Reproductive Termite
Size: 3/8"
Lighter brown to black, this is the "swarmer" of the eastern subterranean termite colony. It is distinguished by its four wings, all of the same length. This helps distinguish it from a flying ant, whose underwings are shorter than those on top. Reproductive termites, “swarmers” search for new sites, mate, and begin new colonies. They are essentially seeking to be future kings and queens.
See a pest that you have?
Identifying your pest problem is the first step. To eliminate the problem, connect with our specialists for fast and easy treatment.
Worker Termite
Worker Termite
Size: 1/8"
Uniformly white or cream, the Worker termite is the most damaging caste of the termite colony. Due to a microbe in their intestines that allows them to ingest cellulose (wood) as a nutrient, wood serves as an abundant food source for them, and termites must be treated promptly! Common signs of these termites include: Three dimensional tubes, dark areas or blistering in wood flooring, and hollowed out galleries.
Silverfish
Silverfish
Size: 1/8"
Silvery satin to gun-metal gray, silverfish are often confused with firebrats which do not have the silvery sheen. Mostly active at night, found in tight cracks and crevices, silverfish are paper pests, but will also feed on any meaty protein.
Clothes Moth
Clothes Moth
Size: 3/8"-1/3"
Buff to gold, with a brownish tinge in color, this fungus moth is a real pest! As the name suggests, the larvae of the clothes moth BOTH infest and feed mostly on woolen clothing and furs. As a result, holes, voids, and tubes contain fibers with feces on them. This pest also has been found infesting milk products. The adults do not feed.
Odorous House Ant
Odorous House Ant
Size: 1/16" - 1/8"
Color can be brown to black. When crushed they give off a smell similar to a rotten coconut. In constant search of moisture and food, odorous house ants are found near pipes, sinks, and hot water heaters. They love high protein food such as meat and cheese.
Carpenter Ant
Carpenter Ant
Size: 1/8" - 1/2"
Usually black but occasionally appearing reddish-brown, the carpenter ant, unlike the termite, cannot digest wood. However, it will chew out galleries and hollow places to create nests, resulting in structural damage. They are sometimes evidenced by the appearance of a sawdust-like material with debris in it, including body parts, known as “frass.”
Flea
Flea
Size: 1/8"
Wingless insects, brownish-black to black, but reddish-black when full of blood, fleas are known to be vectors of disease organisms causing both plague and muring typhus. They can also serve as the intermediary host for tapeworm. Fleas can jump as high as 7-8 inches. Fleas are typically found where animals sleep or frequent.
House Mouse
House Mouse
Size: 2 1/2" - 3 1/2"
Color can vary considerably from place to place. Having a strong ability to jump, climb, and swim enables a high number of them to invade a structure very quickly. They often nest in various materials such as insulation, and usually use the same pathways along a wall. Mice prefer seeds or cereals for food. They have been known to spread salmonella disease.
Norway Rat
Norway Rat
Size: 7" - 9 1/2"
Commonly brown or gray in color, and also known as the “brown rat,” the Norway rat is the largest of the common rodents in the temperate regions of the world. In addition to damage by gnawing, it eats and contaminates stored food, and is a carrier of many diseases.
Bed Bug
Bed Bug
Size: 1/4"
Color is brownish. They get their name because they both live and feed in beds. As an ectoparasitic insect (a parasite which lives on the outside of the body of the host) of the family Cimicidae, bed bugs feed only on the blood of humans and other warm-blooded hosts. Distinguishable by their brown color, the common bed bug (Cimex Lectularius Linnaeus 1758) can lay 12 eggs per day!
Stink Bug
Stink Bugs
Size: 3/4"
Brown, Gray or Dark Green in color, Stink bugs known for their “smelly” reputation, acquired its name from its ability to release an odor when disturbed or crushed. Stink bugs are herbivorous and like to feed on plant juices using their piercing and sucking mouthparts. Unlike many other household pests that have natural predators, stink bugs have NO known enemies in the United States. They are known to enter homes through attics, and invade a home from the top-down.
Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes
Size: 1/8"-3/4"
Ranging from light brown to black in color (depending on the species), this insect is known for its ability to bite mammals resulting in itchy pink bumps on the body. Since mosquitoes pass from host to host, many harmful infections may be transmitted through them including Malaria, West Nile Virus, Dengue Fever, and the Zika Virus. This is why they are considered the deadliest animal family in the world, making a mosquito treatment program essential for your backyard.
Centipede
Centipede
Size: 1/8"-5 ½"
Varying in color, centipedes are known for having 100 legs. However, the number of legs can vary, often from 30 to well over 150. Predatory in nature, centipedes seek other pests within the household; therefore, treatment of centipedes are essential to also address the other pests within the household. Elimination of centipedes will result in a reduction of other general pests around the home.
Camel Crickets
Camel Crickets
Size: 3/4"-7/8"
Brownish in color, and sometimes appearing translucent, camel crickets, often called “cave crickets” or “sprickets,” are wingless, and rather humpbacked in shape. These crickets are known mostly as a nuisance pest, especially if they gain entry into your home. Some are known to damage clothing and other fabrics like curtains. In order to keep them from reproducing in your home, treat these promptly.
Yellow Jackets
Yellow Jackets
Size: 2/5"-3/5"
Getting their name from their yellow and black bodies, yellow jackets are very aggressive. They retain their stinger after use, and may sting their victim multiple times. Yellow jackets commonly nest in structure voids, behind siding, and even underground. Their diet primarily consists of items high in sugar and carbohydrates such as: fruits, flower nectar, and tree sap.
Bald-faced Hornets
Bald-faced Hornets
Size: 1/2"-3/4"
Distinguishable by their white and black coloring and “bald-faced” head, Bald-faced hornets construct brown multi-layered basketball sized nests by collecting and chewing naturally occurring fibers. Like yellow jackets, bald-faced hornets retain use of their stinger, and can sting their victim multiple times. Especially for those with a stinging allergy, treatment and removal of the nest is essential!
Paper Wasp
Paper Wasp
Size: ¾"-1"
Mostly dark brown in color, with black wings, and yellow markings, the paper wasp is known for constructing baseball sized nests in partially sheltered areas of your home or business. They are a real nuisance, and it is not uncommon to have a few paper wasp nests around the exterior of your home. Paper wasps prefer to feed on nectar and pollen, and even prey on caterpillars they use to feed their colonies’ larvae.
European Hornets
European Hornets
Size: 1"-1 ½"
Brown with yellow stripes on the abdomen, the European hornet commonly makes their nests in holes in trees, attics, or wall voids in homes. They feed on crickets, grasshoppers, large flies, caterpillars, and the workers of other yellow jacket species. European hornets are known to sting if provoked, and should certainly be avoided. They are commonly confused with cicada killers.
Carpenter Bees
Carpenter Bees
Size: 1/4"-1"
Dark and somewhat metallic in appearance, with yellowish hairs, known for chewing a 3/8 inch tunnel into a piece of wood to build a nest gallery, the female carpenter bee takes advantage of outside wood to lay their eggs and protect their developing larvae. Although solitary in nature, carpenter bees typically nest very close to each other, and if left untreated, can cause a major problem. Carpenter bees can reuse existing holes, making a maintenance type of pest treatment imperative!
Cicada Killers
Cicada Killers
Size: 1"-2"
Black, with yellow markings on three segments, cicada killers are digger wasps. They are large solitary wasps in the family Crabronidae, and live underground. They commonly live within close proximity to one another, and feed on flower nectar. Treatment of Cicada Killers is essential because their many holes and plant damage can be devastating to a yard. Females are often seen carrying a paralyzed cicada, which they take back to their burrow. The female cicada killer then lays an egg on the paralyzed cicada, which hatches and uses the cicada as a nourishment source.
Moles/Voles
Moles/Voles
Size: 5"-7" – 5"-7 ½"
Appearing Dark brown, brown-gray, tan, or even black, moles and voles are known for leaving many shallow tunnels and runways all around a home’s yard. Both pests are very problematic. While moles damage your garden while looking for insects, voles will actually eat your crops, plants, and flowers. If left untreated, results can be devastating to a yard.
Customers love us. Pests hate us.
Thought we had termites in our kitchen. Called and had someone come out. Turns out it was just flying ants. They could have milked us and pretend to do treatment, but didn’t. We have not had any problems with ants or other critters. Integrity is what I like most about this company.
I had mice and ant problems. Delaware Pest Control came out and took care of the issue! It’s been a few weeks now, and the problem is GONE. See you in a few months for my maintenance program!
I highly recommend their services. Chris called before arriving and arrived during the appointment time window scheduled. Been customer for years and noticed the quality of the work keeps improving, especially their treatments used inside and outside of the house.
Getting pest control is easier than ever.
Experience our top-notch team for yourself—give us a call today!
How To Get Started