PestPro Index US

US Pest Guides

Sixty pages on pests in the United States, grouped by the problem rather than by the taxonomy. Every page is written from university extension and public health sources, and cites them.

By the PestPro Index TeamUpdated August 20263 min read

This is the index for the US side of PestPro Index. The groups below are arranged by the situation a reader is usually in — something is biting, something is indoors, something is digging — rather than by insect order.

Each page sets out what its sources say and names them. Where the sources disagree with one another, the pages say so rather than picking a side, and where a product category has no support behind it, the pages leave it out and explain why.

Biting & Stinging Pests

Things that bite or sting people, and what the sources say about avoiding them.

TicksSpecies and their ranges, the published removal procedure, and prevention.ChiggersWhat a chigger is, what the extension services correct about them, and the bite.No-See-UmsBiting midges, window screen mesh sizes, and the sand fly naming problem.MosquitoesStanding water and source reduction, Bti and methoprene larvicides, and what several sources say does not work.Arizona Bark ScorpionsTelling it from the harmless desert scorpions, the sting, and sealing a building.Black Widow SpidersWhich widow species, whether the hourglass is reliable, and what the sources say about bites.Brown Recluse SpidersTelling one from the many spiders mistaken for it, and what the sources say about bites.Imported Fire AntsWhich ants the federal term covers, the two-step method, and the sting.FleasWhich flea carries which disease, two sources that disagree about it, and why the strongest treatments need a vet.Bed BugsIdentification, where they hide and spread, the inspection methods nine sources measure by detection rate, and the heat and laundering figures that actually kill them.Social WaspsYellowjackets, paper wasps and the hornet that usually is not one, and why a wasp leaves no stinger to remove.Carpenter BeesTelling one from a bumblebee, the timber damage, and why several sources ask you to think twice before killing them.

Cockroaches & Wood-Damaging Pests

Subjects where naming and identification decide what to do next.

Palmetto BugsWhich insects the name covers, and how they differ from one another.TermitesSigns, subterranean and drywood types, and the limits of consumer products.Formosan TermitesThe introduced species, how it differs, and why it is a licensed job.German CockroachesThe small indoor species, the station size one source makes a fitness test, and four positions on doing it yourself.Powderpost BeetlesWhether the infestation is still active, whether the holes are beetles or termites, and three sources that disagree on the moisture floor.

Overwintering Invaders

Insects that come indoors in autumn and are noticed in spring.

Stink Bugs in the HouseWhy they appear indoors and where they gather.How to Get Rid of Stink BugsRemoval and exclusion, step by step.Stink Bug TrapsTrap types measured against a published specification.Boxelder BugsIdentification and the trees they associate with.Asian Lady Beetles, Not LadybugsTelling the two apart, and why the difference matters indoors.Cluster FliesHow they differ from house flies and where they overwinter.

Joro Spiders

The four-page cluster on one spider, its spread and its web.

Joro SpiderIdentification, origin, and how the species spreads.Joro Spider RangeWhere the species has been recorded.Joro Spider WebsThe web, its structure and where it is built.Are Joro Spiders Dangerous?What the research says about the bite and the risk.

Wildlife

Larger animals around the house, and the exclusion work that comes first.

CoyotesThe fence specification, the hazing disagreement, and who does the removal.SnakesFour fence specifications that disagree, the law by state, and the bite material.RaccoonsDamage signs, attic and chimney entry, and the health guidance.Raccoon Cage TrapsCages measured against one published minimum size.Squirrels in the AtticEntry signs, the exclusion and repair specs extension services publish, and matched live-trap dimensions.OpossumsWhat they do around a property and what the agencies advise.SkunksDenning, digging signs, and the spray.ArmadillosRooting damage, burrows, and exclusion.Armadillo TrapsTrap types set against the published guidance.

Burrowing Rodents

Animals blamed for the same lawn, and the tools the sources support.

GroundhogsThe 10-to-12-inch burrow entrance, four fence specs that disagree, and the state that bans relocating a trapped one.Pocket GophersMounds, tunnels and the control methods extension services describe.Gopher TrapsTrap types and how they are set.Ground SquirrelsThe methods the sources support, the California legal frame, and why no product is named.ChipmunksWhen the sources say control is warranted, and what they support when it is.Mole, Vole or Pocket Gopher?Telling the three apart from the marks they leave.Mole and Vole ControlTraps, castor oil and one general-use bait, against what the sources publish.

Rodents in the Home

Commensal rodents that live inside the structure itself, not the lawn, and what the sources support against them.

House MiceIdentification against the deer mouse, the quarter-inch exclusion rule, and trapping.RatsNorway rat versus roof rat, the half-inch a rat can squeeze through against the quarter-inch sources say to seal to, and trapping.

Rules & Regulations

Where the law, rather than the animal, decides what you may do.

California Trapping RulesWhat the state regulations say, quoted and cited.

Guides

Pages about the work rather than about a particular animal.

Choosing a Pest Control ServiceChecking a license against a state database before you hire anyone.Every Product Named on the US PagesAn index of every tool named anywhere on these pages, grouped by pest, each under the page that explains it.

Fabric & Paper Pests

Insects that damage clothing, carpets, paper and stored items rather than people.

Carpet BeetlesWhat the larvae eat, four freezing prescriptions that disagree, and the two criteria the sources state.Household MothsFabric moths and pantry moths kept apart, and why a pheromone trap for one will not catch the other.Silverfish and FirebratsTwo species with different numbers, three sources that disagree on warm or cool, and the paper damage.

Damp-Space Invaders

Insects that turn up in a basement, crawl space or garage because the space is damp, and leave when it is not.

Camel CricketsThe chirp test that separates them from the crickets that do chirp, and four sources that disagree on spraying indoors.EarwigsWhether the pincers can hurt you, three sources that disagree about what they are for, and the strip of mulch beside the door.House CentipedesEight sources on whether it can bite, and the reason a recurring one is a symptom rather than the problem.MillipedesWhy the autumn invasion ends by itself, and the one source that says not to pick one up.Sowbugs and PillbugsThe roly-poly is a crustacean with gills, which is why it dies indoors and why the sources say to buy nothing.

Food & Waste Pests

Insects that breed in waste and end up on food, where the problem is what they bring with them rather than a bite.

House FliesWhy they cannot bite, what the sources say they carry instead, and the limits of sticky paper.Fruit FliesWhere they actually breed, drain treatment that works, and the test that separates them from drain flies and fungus gnats.Fungus GnatsThe wet pot rather than the insect: how dry to let the soil get, what Bti does, and two sources that disagree about buying it.

Ants That Forage Indoors

Ants whose workers come indoors looking for food and water while the nest they belong to sits out of sight, in the yard or inside a wall.

Household AntsFour ants kept apart, where each one nests, and four sources that take different positions on spraying.