American Pest Professionals And Baxter Pest Professionals Pest Library

Serving Wabash and Miami Counties
Offices in Muncie, Marion, Connersville, Anderson, Bluffton, and Noblesville

Learn more about specific pest control services that we provide:

• Insects 
• Mosquitos
• Rodents 
• Wildlife 

Pest Profiles

• Ants
• Bedbugs
• Bees
• Beetles
• Cockroaches
• Crickets
• Earwigs
• Fleas
• Mice
• Mites
• Moles
• Moths
• Rats
• Spiders
• Termites
• Ticks
• Wasps

Ants

Acrobat Ants
Length: 1/8 inch long.
Color: Brown to blackish.
Description: Acrobat ants often tunnel and nest in wood. They live in decaying tree stumps and can live in woodwork especially door or window frames. Acrobat ants may nest in wood already damaged by carpenter ants or termites. Nests are also found in foam insulation. Nest locations are often associated with moisture problems and water leaks. Acrobat ants feed on honeydew produced by aphids.

Carpenter Ants
This is a native species and the common species in the east and is black in color. These ants get their common name from their habit of hollowing out galleries in pieces of wood for nesting purposes. This nesting habit can result in structural damage. These ants are about 1/8 to 1/3 inch long, and usually contain over 3,000 workers the only external indication of infestation other than the presence of workers and/or swarmers is the appearance of small openings or windows on the surface of the wood. Through these, the workers expel debris which consists of sawdust-like shavings and/or fragments of insulation and insect body parts. The accumulation of such debris below such holes is a good indication of and infestation. Most carpenter ant species establish their first nest in decayed wood and later expand or enlarge this into sound wood. Inside, nests are located in wood, in insulation, and/or wall voids. Outside, nests are typically located in rotting fence posts, stumps, old firewood, dead portions of standing trees, and under stones of fallen logs. Outside is the usual location of the parent colony. In mid-summer, satellite nests are established outside or indoors.

Citronella Ants
Length: 1/4 inch long.
Color: Workers are bright yellow. Winged reproductives are dark brown.
Description: Large, attractive, bright yellow ants. All workers of this species are the same size. The winged reproductives are dark brown and 1/4 inch long. All members of the colony have a pleasant citrus smell when crushed. Citronella ants forage below the surface of the soil and are not seen on the soil surface under normal circumstances. Common in warmer climates.

Crazy Ants
Length: 1/8 inch long.
Color:
Description: The body has long coarse hairs. These ants are easily recognized by extremely long legs and antenna. Crazy ants get their name because they seem to run erratically with no apparent sense of direction. Crazy ants often nest in soil of potted tropical plants. It does not survive outdoors in northern climates, but can be a persistent pest when established indoors.

Ghost Ants
Length: Tiny, usually less than 1/16-inch in length.
Color: Pale, with a dark head and abdomen.
Description: It occasionally is found in apartments and greenhouses in northern states. These ants nest outdoors under items on the ground, within landscape mulch, beneath loose bark on trees, under ground cover, in potted plants, and within piles of items such as lumber, firewood, or bricks. Nests may be readily established inside homes in walls, beneath carpeting, and in other suitable voids or spaces.

Odorous House Ant
The pungent, “rotten-coconut” like odor given off when this ant is crushed gives it its name. They are brown to black and are about 1/16 to 1/8 inch long. Colonies may be composed of several hundred to 100,000 ants. The first swarmers appear from May to mid-July. Inside these ants usually construct their nests near a moisture source such as in wall voids especially around hot water pipes and heaters, in bath traps, beneath commodes with leaking seals, in crevices around sinks, cupboards, etc., but also in wood damaged by termites. These ants prefer sweets but also eat foods with high protein content and grease such as meats and cheese. Outside, they are often found in the nest of larger ants, in exposed soil, but mostly under objects including stacks of lumber, firewood, bricks, etc. They are most likely to enter buildings when their honeydew supply is reduced such as during rainy weather or with leaf fall in the autumn. They like to follow guidelines or edges.

Pavement Ants
This ant has a light brown to black body with paler legs and antennae and are about 1/16 to 1/8 inch long. Colonies are moderately large to large averaging 3 to 4 thousand ants. Winged reproductive ants appear outside primarily in June and July, but may emerge anytime inside including during the winter months. Inside, these ants will occasionally nest in walls, in insulation, and under floors near some heat source in the winter. They often follow pipes that come through slabs for access to upper floors of building. Outside, these ants typically nest under stones, in cracks in pavement, and next to buildings. They typically bring soil up to the surface and pile it up around the entry hole.

Pharaoh Ants
Length: 1/16 - 3/32 inches long.
Color: Yellowish to red.
Description: Pharaoh ants nest in secluded spots and prefer temperatures between 80-86 degrees Fahrenheit. These ants are frequent house invaders; often found around kitchen and bathroom faucets where they obtains water. Pharaoh ants feed on sweets but prefer fatty foods. The ants also eat dead insects and prey on other insects. Pharaoh ants are more common in warmer climates.

Bedbugs
This bug probably received its common name from its close association with human sleeping beds where it often seeks refuge during daylight, only to come out to feed on the bed’s occupant(s) at night. The bedbug is an ectoparasite of primarily humans but will also attack poultry and other mammals and birds. The adults are brown to reddish-brown (after feeding) and are about 3/16 inch long. Nymphs resemble adults but are smaller and paler in color; white just after molting and then light tan in color before feeding. Females lay 1-5 eggs per day with white eggs being deposited individually in cracks or on rough surfaces and secured with transparent cement. Although the bite of bed bugs is painless, many people develop and allergic reaction to the saliva injected by the bug as it feeds. Bedbugs have been found to be infected with some 25 different disease organisms. Although they have been suspect in the transmission of many diseases or disease organisms in humans, conclusive evidence of transmission is lacking. Once introduced they harbor in cracks and crevices during the day and feed at night. Many places can be infested including wall hangings, nightstands, stuffed furniture baseboards, floorboard cracks, loose wallpaper, light switches door and window frames, curtains, under carpets between the tac-strip and baseboard, conduits, ect. Clutter is a Bedbugs best friend. The primary clues to an infestation will be the presence of small red to reddish brown fecal spots clustered on surfaces near harborages, bedbug molt skins, eggs or eggshells, and/or bedbugs themselves.

Bees

Carpenter Bee
Length: The species of most importance are about 1-inch long and have a robust, bee-like shape.
Color: Like bumblebees, carpenter bees are black with some yellow. One carpenter bee species in the southwest, the valley carpenter bee, has a metallic-black colored female and a tan colored male.
Description: Carpenter bees chew out tunnels in wood in which to lay their eggs and provide a protected site for their larvae to develop. The male carpenter bee guards the outside of the nest and tries to chase away potential predators. He does not have a stinger, but still causes concern with his aggressive buzzing if people venture near the nest site.

Honey Bee
Length: 1/2-inch in length.
Color: Golden-yellow in color with darker bands of brown.
Description: Honeybees are the only type of social bee that establish perennial colonies that may survive a decade or longer. These bees forage on pollen and nectar from flowering plants and use these materials to produce the honey that will feed the colony through the winter months. These swarms may be seen clustered on a tree branch, a fence, or a building as the bees rest before flying off again to find a suitable nesting site. Because hundreds of bees are part of this swarm, people are often concerned about the possibility of the bees attacking. Usually, the bees in these swarms are docile and non-aggressive unless vigorously disturbed.

Bumble Bee
Length: Ranges up to 1 inch in length.
Color: Usually black with yellow stripes on the thorax and abdomen.
Description: As social insects, bumblebees live in colonies. Each spring a queen that has survived winter will find a suitable nesting site and establish her colony. Her first brood of eggs mature into workers that forage on pollen and nectar for food. The workers do produce honey, but it is not edible to humans. The colony grows larger over the summer and is usually discovered by a homeowner while gardening or mowing the lawn. The bees will attack to defend their nest, so they are considered a health concern. During the fall, the colony produces a number of queens that fly out to find protected sites to spend the winter and thus repeat the cycle next year.

Beetles
Length: 1/4 - 1 inches long
Color: Common type is black but may have colored markings
Description: May damage carpets, woolens, furs and stored food.

Cockroaches

American Roach
Length: Up to 2 inches long.
Color: Reddish brown.
Description: The American cockroach is the largest cockroach that infests homes and buildings in the United States. This insect may be recognized by a yellow "figure-8" pattern on the shield at the front of its body. In Florida, the American cockroach is called the "palmetto bug," and it has the nickname "water bug" throughout the United States.

German Roach
Length: About 1/2-inch in length.
Color: Brown.
Description: The German cockroach is the most prolific breeder among all cockroaches. Each egg capsule can contain up to 40 eggs and development from egg to adult can occur in as little as 45 days. Like all cockroaches, it is omnivorous and will eat virtually anything people will and many things we won't. In homes, this pest will first locate itself in bathrooms and the kitchen, as close as possible to food and moisture sources. It spends about 80 percent of its time resting in cracks and voids.

Oriental Roach
Length: Both male and female are about one inch in length.
Color: The female is all black, while the male has two brown wings.
Description: The female oriental cockroach differs in appearance from the male which often leads homeowners to believe they have two types of cockroaches. The female is black, oval in shape, and has no wings -- only two small wing pads just behind the thoracic "shield." The male is thinner in shape, about the same length, and has two brown wings that extend partway down the abdomen. The oriental cockroach is a pest in homes throughout much of the United States. It is rarely seen in southeastern states, however. During the summer, oriental cockroaches move outdoors where they may venture into neighboring buildings. During the colder months, they reinvade homes, establishing themselves in basements and crawl spaces.

Crickets
Length: 3/4 - 1 inches long
Color: Brown to black with wings and large hind legs
Description: Likes warm, damp, dark places. Active at night and eats everything from rugs to drapes.

Earwigs

Length: 3/4 - 1 1/2 inches long
Color:
Description: Easily recognized by forceps-like tail. Feeds on decaying organic matter and may damage tender vegetation.

Fleas
Length: 1/32 - 1/16 inches long
Color: Brown to black with strong hind legs
Description: Lives on blood sucked from birds, animals and humans. Can transmit typhoid fever and the plague.

Hornets

Bald Faced Hornet
Length: About 1 inch in length.
Color: Bluish-black with white markings on its face, thorax and abdomen.
Description: Bald-faced hornets are not true hornets at all; they are aerial yellow jackets. This hornet constructs paper nests made from wood harvested from logs and trees. The nest of the bald-faced hornet will take on a football shape, growing larger with time. Some nests may measure up to two feet in length and contain hundreds of worker wasps. The nests last one year. Each year in the fall, a hornet nest produces numerous queens that fly out to find a protected site (e.g., under loose bark) to over winter. The following spring, each queen finds a suitable site in a tree or shrub to begin constructing her nest. She forms a small paper nest inside in which she builds a paper "comb" and raises her first brood of larvae. The workers that emerge from that brood begin foraging for food, enlarging the nest, caring for the young and defending the colony.

European Hornet
Length: 1 to 1-1/2 inches in length.
Color: Golden brown with darker brown stripes and markings on its thorax and abdomen.
Description: European hornets are social wasps which form colonies that live for one year. Each spring, an over-wintering queen will find a suitable nesting site and construct a small paper nest. Inside the nest, she builds a small paper comb in which she raises her first brood of larvae. After these larvae mature into adults, these worker wasps begin nest enlargement and food foraging for the colony. The paper in the nest and the comb are made from bits of wood scraped from logs, bark, and even the wood on decks and houses. Like bald-faced hornets and yellow jackets, European hornets aggressively defend their colony if it is disturbed. Loud vibrating noises, such as those from lawnmowers and leaf blowers, can "set off" the hornet workers causing them to sting people and pets. The colonies of European hornets may contain several hundred workers by the end of the season.

Mice

House Mice
Length: Small, its body rarely exceeding two inches long and one ounce in weight.
Color: Usually gray in color, but some may appear darker.
Description: Few people really like rats or mice, and no one wants them in their house. Rodents live everywhere outside and could enter at any time. Mice are excellent climbers and are capable of gaining entry through holes around soffit vents and around cables entering the building, through holes in gable vent screens, and through turbine and box vents on roofs. Most garage doors on homes allow enough space for mice to fit underneath, as well.

Deer Mice
Length: Body is up to two inches in length.
Color: The top is light brown to red-brown and the feet and underbelly are pure white.
Description: Unlike the house mouse, the deer mouse is not found in cities but is associated more with rural areas and buildings located in or near wooded areas. It does not commonly invade homes, but in rare instances one or more deer mice may invade a particular building. The deer mouse is a medically important species because it carries the hantavirus. This virus can result in serious, often fatal, respiratory disease in humans. Cases of hantavirus are rare -- only about 300-400 cases have been documented in the past nine years, and most have been in the Western United States.

Mites
Length: 1/64 - 1/32 inches long
Color: Varies in color from yellowish-green to bright red
Description: This tiny biting insect has a two-part body with 8 legs. It often infects animals, plants and stored food. Carries disease.

Moles
Length: 5 - 8 inches long
Color: The common mole is a small gray furry burrowing animal
Description: Its head has a long, tapering snout. Moles live underground and seldom venture out of their burrows. Most active early in the morning and late in the evening.
Moths

Indian Meal Moths
Length: About 3/8 inch (10mm) long at rest; wing spread is about 5/8 inch (14mm).
Color: Bronze-colored wings.
Description: When at rest the wings are folded together along the line of the body. The front half of the forewings is a grayish-white color, and the lower half is a rusty red-brown color. The adult moths usually fly at night and lay eggs on food such as grain, dried food, and especially pet food. The Indian meal moth is one of the most common and troublesome of the moths infesting stored products. The caterpillar stage of this insect will feed on a variety of grains, meal, breakfast foods, dried nuts, seeds, chocolate, powdered milk, and especially dry pet foods. Infested material may be more or less webbed together. Small two-colored moths (gray and reddish-brown) will also be seen flying about the infested area.

Rats

Norway Rat
Length: Larger rodents that may grow to a body length of 10 to 12 inches.
Color: Can vary from gray to brown to black.
Description: Outside, rats live in fields, wooded areas, vacant lots, farms, and just about anywhere people have buildings. Rats are seldom a problem in homes except in urban and rural areas. This is due in large part to their size, since rats need a hole about the size of a quarter in order to gain entry into a building. Rats however, may find harborage in many areas around the home - especially in stacked firewood, stones and bricks, and piles of leaves or other debris.

Spiders

Brown Recluse Spider

Length: May grow to have a body about 5/8-inch in length and a leg span of about one and a half inches in diameter.
Color: Usually light brown but may be darker in some specimens.
Description: Like most spiders, the brown recluse spider does not seek to bite people. The bite is usually accidental. The spider crawls into a shoe, into clothing or into a bed and a person then puts on the clothing or lies on the spider in bed. The spider, being trapped, has only one defense - and that is to bite. Unfortunately, the bite of this spider produces a nasty result in people, such as open, ulcerating sores. Left untreated, such bites often become infected and significant tissue necrosis can occur. It is always best to seek medical attention, preferably from a dermatologist, if you think you may have a spider bite. This is especially true in areas where brown recluse spiders are common.

Garden Spider
Length: This is a large spider with a body up to one inch long or larger and a leg span of up to three inches.
Color: The garden spider’s color varies, but the most common species is black and yellow.
Description: Garden spiders spin very large, flat, orb-shaped webs across open spaces between tree and shrub branches. The webs will be located along natural flight paths for flying insects. This spider sits in the center of the web, head facing downward, waiting for an unwary insect to fly into its web. The spider then hurries to the insect, bites it to subdue it, wraps it tightly in silk, and carries it like a prize to a more protected area of the web to feed on it later. The garden spider begins repairing the web immediately to prepare for its next flying prey.

Wolf Spider
Length: Wolf spiders come in many sizes with most having a body size ranging from 1/4-inch to more than 1 1/2 inches in length. The largest species may have a leg measuring up to 3 inches or more leading many homeowners to mistake them for tarantulas.
Color: Most wolf spiders are brown although some may appear black.
Description: Wolf spiders are active hunters which search for prey during the day or night, depending on the species. These common spiders may live in significant numbers around homes and other buildings, especially those structures which have lush landscaping. Wolf spiders enter underneath doors or through cracks in the exterior walls. Wolf spiders are unique in that they carry their egg sacs from the tip of their abdomens attached to the spinnerets. The young spiderlings also ride on the mother’s back for a few days after hatching. Bites involving wolf spiders are rare and are not dangerous.

Termites

Eastern Subterranean Termite
This is the most common and widely distributed termite in North America. Workers are pale in color and are about 3/16 inch long. These termites eat mostly the spring wood and leave the harder wood which they cannot effectively digest. A typical mature colony may consist of 60,000 to over a million workers. 60,000 workers can eat up to 2 1/3 linear feet of a pine board in 1 year. They actively feed in living trees and free-standing poles, in addition to structures. These termites have been observed to forage a maximum of 151 to 793 feet depending on colony size. Eastern Subterranean Termites colonies are usually located in the ground, usually below the frost line. Mud tubes are built to cross areas of adverse conditions between the colony and food sources. They can enter structures through cracks less than 1/16 “ wide. However if a constant source of moisture is available (like leaky pipes), colonies called secondary colonies can exist above ground and without ground contact.

Ticks
Length: 1/16 - 1/8 inches long
Color: Dark or reddish brown.
Description: Leathery body with 8 legs. Feeds on blood and can transmit serious diseases like Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Wasps

Paper Wasps
Length: Most species are about 1 inch in length, but a few may be as small as 1/2-inch or as large as 1-1/2 inches.
Color: Many are reddish-brown or dark red. Some species are more orange, while others have varying bright stripes of red and yellow.
Description: The key to identifying paper wasps is the shape of the nest - a round, upside-down paper comb that is attached by a single stalk to a horizontal surface in a protected location. This paper nest resembles an umbrella, lending to these wasps nickname, "umbrella wasps." Paper wasps are predators and feed on insects, spiders, and caterpillars. Most paper wasp colonies number only a few dozen workers, but under the right conditions, a colony might produce more than 100 workers. In early fall, the colony produces queens which fly out to find a site to over winter.

Yellow Jackets
Length: About 1/2 -to 1-inch in length.
Color: Generally small wasps with black and yellow stripes.
Description: Yellow jackets are social insects that live in colonies containing thousands of individuals. These wasps will aggressively attack when their nest is disturbed, and can inflict painful stings. Unlike the honeybee, which stings only one time and then dies, a single yellow jacket can sting many times. Colonies located in or near a home can pose a threat to the persons living in the house. When this situation is discovered, the colony or colonies should be eliminated. Because of the danger involved in treating these nests, only a professional should attempt to treat them.