Pest ID guide
What's this bug?
Start with where you found it. Match what you're seeing to the cards below, then open the page for how we handle it, or just call and describe it.
Before you start
Most household bugs in Salt Lake homes are harmless nuisances. The ones that matter most are black widows, bed bugs, termites, rodents and stinging insects near doors. If you are not sure, save the bug in a sealed jar or bag and call; we will identify it on the phone or at the visit.
Where you found it
In the window well
No. 01
Black widow
- Looks like
- Shiny black, red hourglass underneath, messy low web
- When
- Summer and fall
Hobo or funnel weaver spider
- Looks like
- Fast brown spider, funnel web at ground level
- When
- August to October
Earwigs
- Looks like
- Brown, pincers at the tail end, under wet leaves
- When
- Mid to late summer
Crickets
- Looks like
- Brown or tan, long back legs, hopping
- When
- Late summer and fall
Where you found it
In the kitchen or pantry
No. 05
Ants
- Looks like
- Small dark ants in a line to food or water
- When
- Spring and summer
German cockroaches
- Looks like
- Small tan roaches that scatter when lights come on
- When
- Year round
Pantry moths
- Looks like
- Small moths with coppery wing tips, webbing in grains
- When
- Year round
Fruit or drain flies
- Looks like
- Tiny flies around the sink, drain or produce
- When
- Year round
Where you found it
In the bathroom or basement
No. 09
Silverfish
- Looks like
- Silver, carrot-shaped, fast, in tubs and sinks
- When
- Year round
House centipedes
- Looks like
- Long legs all around, very fast along walls
- When
- Year round
Millipedes and pill bugs
- Looks like
- Curling bugs on floors after rain or watering
- When
- Spring to fall
Where you found it
In the bedroom or closet
No. 12
Bed bugs
- Looks like
- Apple-seed-sized, flat, brown, spots on mattress seams
- When
- Year round
Carpet beetle larvae
- Looks like
- Tiny fuzzy larvae on rug edges and in closets
- When
- Year round
Clothes moths
- Looks like
- Small pale moths avoiding light, holes in wool
- When
- Year round
Fleas
- Looks like
- Tiny jumping insects, bites on ankles
- When
- Summer and fall
Where you found it
On sunny walls and windows
No. 16
Boxelder bugs
- Looks like
- Half-inch black bugs with red edges, on south walls
- When
- August and September
Elm seed bugs
- Looks like
- Smaller red and black bugs, almond smell when crushed
- When
- Mid-summer
Clover mites
- Looks like
- Tiny red specks crawling on sills
- When
- Spring and fall
Cluster flies
- Looks like
- Slow, sluggish flies on upstairs windows
- When
- Fall and spring
Where you found it
Around the eaves, yard and lawn
No. 20
Paper wasps
- Looks like
- Open umbrella-shaped nest under eaves
- When
- Summer
Yellowjackets
- Looks like
- Yellow and black wasps flying into a hole in the ground
- When
- Late summer
Pocket gophers
- Looks like
- Fan-shaped soil mounds with a plug to one side
- When
- Spring and fall
Voles
- Looks like
- Trails of dead grass in the lawn at snowmelt
- When
- Winter into spring
Mosquitoes
- Looks like
- Biting at dusk near standing water
- When
- Spring to first freeze
Where you found it
In the garage, attic or walls
No. 25
Mice
- Looks like
- Rice-sized droppings, scratching at night
- When
- Fall and winter
Rats
- Looks like
- Large droppings, burrows along the foundation
- When
- Year round
Squirrels
- Looks like
- Daytime noise in the attic, chewed roofline holes
- When
- Spring and fall
Bats
- Looks like
- Streaming out of a gable at dusk, droppings below
- When
- Summer
Talk to us
Still not sure what it is?
Save it in a jar and call. A real person answers any hour and will help you identify it.
Answering 24/7(801) 516-0135
Homes, rentals and businesses across Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, Box Elder, Morgan, Tooele and Utah counties.
