Pests we deal with:

Rats & Mice

Bed Bugs

Cockroaches

Wasps

QuicKil Pest Control Services :: Pests

Here you will find the complete list of pests, each of which appears in our Pests Corner feature.

Feel free to scroll through this information or select a type of pest from this menu:

Rats & Mice

Norway Rat

Rattus Norvegicus

Appearance: Brown; heavy-bodied; 6" to 8" long; small eyes & ears; blunt nose; tail shorter than head & body; shaggy fur; capsule- shaped droppings.
Habits: Nest in underground burrows, from which they enter buildings in search of food; tend to remain in hiding during the day.
Diet: Omnivorous, but prefer meats; cannot survive long without water.
Reproduction: Reaches sexual maturity in two months; can breed any month of the year; litter may number from eight to twelve; females can have four to seven litters per year; adults live as long as one year.
Other Information: Most common rat in United States; limited agility, but excellent swimmer; carrier of many serious diseases.

Roof Rat

Rattus Rattus

Appearance: Black or brown, 7" to 10" long, with a long tail and large ears and eyes, with a pointed nose; body is smaller and sleeker than Norway rat; fur is smooth.
Habits: Nests inside and under buildings, or in piles of rubbish or wood; excellent climber; can often be found in the upper parts of structures.
Diet: Omnivorous, but show a preference for grains, fruits, nuts and vegetables.
Reproduction: Becomes sexually mature at four months; four to six litters per year; four to eight young per litter; live up to one year.
Other Information: Very agile; can squeeze through openings only ½" wide; carry many serious diseases.

House Mouse

Mus Musculus

Appearance: Small and slender, three to four inches long, with large ears, small eyes and pointed nose; light brown or light gray; droppings are rod-shaped.
Habits: Nest within structures and burrow; establish a "territory" near food sources, generally 10 to 30 feet from nest; inquisitive, but very wary; excellent climbers.
Diet: Omnivorous, prefer cereal grains.
Reproduction: Prolific breeders at two months; can have litters as often as every 40 or 50 days, with four to seven young per litter; live up to one year.
Other Information: Feed 15 to 20 times per day; can squeeze through a hole ¼" wide; carry many serious diseases.

Birds

QuicKil Pest Control Services :: Pests Corner :: Pigeon

Pigeon (Rock Dove)

Family Columbidae

Appearance: Feral pigeons have dark blue-gray heads with glossy yellow, greenish & reddish-purple markings along necks and wing feathers; bill is grayish-pink; two dark bands usually seen on the wings & single dark band across tails.
Habits: Walk or run with heads bobbing forward & back; fly in a direct path; feed in morning & early afternoon; take cover at night; nest in large flocks; feral pigeons nest in old farm buildings, with tall buildings taking the place of natural cliff surroundings.
Diet: Prefer seeds but will eat many things off open ground; feral city pigeons consume popcorn, bread, cake, peanuts & more.
Reproduction: Pair for life; male builds the nest; eggs hatch about 19 days after being laid; both parents incubate eggs, which vary in quantity.
Other Information: Considered No.1 pest by most urban residents; pigeon predators include possums, raccoons, owls, eagles & sparrow hawks.

Crow

Corvus Brachyrhynchos

Appearance: The common crow is charcoal black in color, with a fan-shaped tail; as long as 21"; virtually the size of a small chicken; has a steady flapping flight.
Habits: With the spread of the suburbs, crows have become increasingly urban. They are among the most common birds.
Diet: A crow will eat most things, from mice, insects, eggs and corn to toads, smaller birds and carrion. The birds often are seen in yards and on lawns and landscaped areas, looking for food.
Reproduction: One of the reasons for the exploding population of crows is that they cooperate in breeding. A breeding pair may have one or more helpers who assist them in all aspects of nesting. Three to seven eggs, which are dull blue in color, are hatched for about 18 days in a tree nest measuring about a foot in diameter. New crows are ready for their first flight at the age of five weeks.
Other Information: Recent studies indicate that crows are among the most intelligent birds. They also are among the most annoying, making loud cawing noises day and night. Speaking of night, crows tend to gather in great evening roosts of up to 1,000 birds.

House (English) Sparrow

Family Ploceidea

Appearance: Sparrows may be the world's most common birds. The small, brown-black creatures have pale undersides. Tails are noticeably shorter than wings and bills and legs are stubby.
Habits: The birds forage aggressively for food on the ground, hopping whenever they do not fly. Flight is direct, with continued wing flapping and no gliding. They often threaten or attack other birds and they inhabit a relatively small area in modest-sized flocks.
Diet: Sparrows are eager eaters. They most favor various seeds, supplemented occasionally by insects and bird feeders.
Reproduction: Sparrows have offspring between February and May, building their nests in building crevices and on and around nearby trees. Up to eight eggs are found in the nest, and incubation lasts as long as two weeks. Males and females feed the young through regurgitation.
Other Information: Sparrows like areas that have been inhabited by humans. They are much more common in an industrial park or a city lawn than in a forest.

European Starling

Family Sturnidae

Appearance: Starlings are pudgy birds about the size of robins. They vary in color from one season to the next, displaying purple-green feathers with white markings and a yellow bill in warm weather and darker feathers tipped in light brown with a blue-black bill in winter. Both sexes are the same colors.
Habits: Livestock owners find starlings especially bothersome, since they eat large quantities of feed and contaminate even more with their droppings. The birds travel in flocks of up to 2,000 in the winter and can eat more than a ton of feed while spoiling two or three times that amount with their whitewash. Though plump, individual birds can squeeze through a hole in a building as small as an inch in diameter.
Diet: The birds prefer fruits and seeds, either wild or cultivated. They supplement during the spring breeding season with insects. They will eat virtually any livestock feed that is not bound and covered.
Reproduction: Starlings nest almost anywhere they can wedge a small nest, and that includes commercial buildings. Females lay as many as seven eggs which hatch less than two weeks following incubation. Young starlings leave the nest within three weeks of birth and may be one of two broods created each season.

Ants

Pharoah Ant

Monomorium Pharaonis

Appearance: Very small; light yellow to red, with black markings on abdomen; about 1/16" long.
Habits: Depends on artificial heating in human dwellings to survive; infestations commonly occur in food service areas; will nest in any well-protected and hidden areas throughout a structure; can nest outdoors in lawns or gardens.
Diet: Food of all types, but especially sweets; will also eat other insects.
Reproduction: Grows from egg to adult in about 45 days; females live as long as 39 weeks and can lay about 400 eggs; workers only live up to 10 weeks.
Other Information: The most persistent and difficult of all household ants to control; very large colonies, with up to several million workers and thousands of queens.

Argentine Ant

Iridomyrmex Humilis

Appearance: From light to dark brown, about 1/10" long; antenna has 12 segments.
Habits: Readily adaptable and can nest in a great variety of situations; colonies are massive, and may contain hundreds of queens; nests are usually located in moist soil, next to or under buildings, along sidewalks or beneath boards; travel in trails; forage day and night.
Diet: Omnivorous; can eat almost anything; prefer sweet foods.
Reproduction: Eggs are white, laid in summer; larvae emerge after about 28 days; adult stage reached in about 74 days.
Other Information: Has no important natural enemy.

Carpenter Ant

Genus Camponotus

Appearance: Among the largest ants, from 1/4" to 3/8" long; most common species is black, but some have reddish or yellowish coloration; workers have large mandibles.
Habits: Normally nest in dead portions of standing trees, stumps or logs, or burrow under fallen logs or stones; invade homes in search of food; nests inside homes can do great damage; hollow out "galleries" in wood that are so smooth they appear to be sandpapered.
Diet: Do not eat wood; will feed on nearly anything people eat, particularly sweets and meats; also feed on other insects.
Reproduction: Queen lays 15 to 20 eggs the first year, and up to 30 eggs the second year; eggs complete their life cycle in about 60 days; worker ants can live up to seven years, while a queen may live up to 25 years.
Other Information: All kinds of houses, regardless of age or type of construction,are vulnerable to infestation and damage by carpenter ants; very difficult to control; colonies can contain up to 3,000 workers.

Fire Ant

Genus Solenopsis

Appearance: Reddish, about ¼" long.
Habits: Nest in mounds of one to two feet in diameter and about one and one-half feet high; large colonies can have up to 250,000 workers; very active and aggressive; will sting any intruding animal repeatedly.
Diet: Omnivorous, known to eat meats, greasy and sweet materials.
Reproduction: Total time from egg to adult averages 30 days; workers live up to 180 days; queens live two to six years.
Other Information: Has been known to remove rubber insulation from telephone wires; sting is painful and can kill young wildlife.

Odorous House Ant

Tapinoma Sessile

Appearance: Dark reddish brown to black, 1/10" long; antennae have 12 segments.
Habits: Nests found in a great variety of situations; in the home, often found nesting in the walls or beneath the floor; most likely to invade homes during rainy weather; travel in trails; forage day and night.
Diet: Honeydew melons in the wild; inside the home,they prefer sweet items.
Reproduction: Each female in the nest lays one egg a day; young reach adulthood in an average of 24 days; workers and females live for several years.
Other Information: When crushed, give off very unpleasant odor;colonies are very large, but can be driven away by invading Argentine ants.

Pavement Ant

Tetramorium Caespitum

Appearance: Light brown to black, appendages lighter than rest of the body; about 1/10" long; parallel lines on head and thorax; antennae of 12 segments.
Habits: Invade homes foraging for food throughout the year; nests are outdoors under stones, along curbing or in cracks of pavement; can nest indoors in walls and under floors.
Diet: Omnivorous; will eat many things, but prefer greasy and sweet foods.
Reproduction: Queen produces five to 20 eggs per day; brood develops in about 40 days; young go through 3 larval stages.
Other Information: Slow-moving; a particular nuisance around homes with slab-on-grade construction.

Wasps

Wasp

Order Hymenoptera

Appearance: Variety of shapes and colors; can be distinguished from bees by their smooth, rather than hairy, bodies; ½" to ¾" long.
Habits: Exhibit predatory and scavenging behavior; some species are solitary, while others live in colonies which may number thousands of individuals.
Diet: Primarily protein, such as spiders, soft-bodied insects and small animals.
Reproduction: Social wasps begin a nest with one queen laying all eggs for colony; if a queen dies, a worker can take over egg-laying function until colony produces new queen.
Other Information: Very protective of their nests; will defend against invaders with painful stings.

Bees

Carpenter Bee

Genus Zylocopa

Appearance: Large, about 1", resemble bumble-bees; some species may have a blue-black, green or purple metallic sheen; no hair on abdomen.
Habits: Often burrow into the exposed, unfinished dry wood of buildings, telephone poles, fence posts and bridges; prefer softer woods for nesting; not social insects, although individuals may establish burrows close to each other.
Diet: Pollen and nectar.
Reproduction: Complete one generation per year; mature from egg to adult in from 84 to 99 days; female furnishes nest with "bee bread," a mixture of pollen and regurgitated nectar, and lays an egg on top of it.
Other Information: Damage to wood from a pair of bees is slight, but a larger number can, over a period of time, cause considerable damage; do not sting; make loud buzzing noise when flying.

Honey Bee

Order Hymenoptera

Appearance: Most species of concern to man have yellow and black coloring; 7/16" to 5/8" long; appear to have hairy bodies.
Habits: Live in colonies of 20,000 to 80,000 individuals; will leave humans alone if not provoked.
Diet: Pollen and nectar.
Reproduction: Only one egg-laying queen in a hive; queen may live as long as five years and lay as many as 1,500 to 2,000 eggs per day; worker females protect eggs and the young; drones' only duty is to mate with queen, after which they die.
Other Information: Stings can be painful, but are harmless to most people;however, dangerous allergic reactions can occur.

Termites

Drywood Termite

Genera Kalotermes & Incisitermes

Appearance: Larger than subterranean termites, up to ½" long; no worker caste in the colony.
Habits: Create colonies in wood, with no connection to the ground necessary; often found in attic wood; need very little moisture.
Diet: Wood and occasionally other cellulose material.
Reproduction: Nymphs pass through seven instars before reaching adulthood; sexual forms eventually swarm to form new colony.
Other Information: Cause serious damage to structures, often long before they are discovered; piles of sawdust-like pellets are a distinct sign of infestation; not as widespread as subterranean termite; colonies may contain up to 2,700 members.

Subterranean Termite

Order Isoptera

Appearance: Four "castes" of a termite colony:
- Worker: Approximately ¼" long, light colored, wingless;
- Soldier: Elongated head with mandibles;
- Supplementary Reproductives: Wingless or very short, non-functional wings; light colored;
Primary Reproductives: Winged, and darker than other members; caste most often seen by homeowners.
Habits: Live in colonies underground, from which they build tunnels in search of food; able to reach food above the level of the ground by building mud tubes; dependent on moisture for survival.
Diet: Wood and other cellulose material.
Reproduction: Different rates of growth from egg stage to adult depend on individual species; one queen per colony, which can lay tens of thousands of eggs in her lifetime, but most eggs are laid by supplementary reproductives in an established colony.
Other Information: Colonies can contain up to 1,000,000 members.

Cockroaches

American Cockroach

Periplaneta Americana

Appearance: The largest house-infesting species, about 1" and 1½" long; reddish-brown wings with light markings on thorax.
Habits: Very aggressive; prefer warm, damp areas; more likely to be seen in daytime and outdoors than other species.
Diet: Scavengers; eat almost anything; commonly found in food preparation areas.
Reproduction: Female needs to mate only once to produce many egg capsules; each capsule contains an average of 13 eggs; nymphs molt 13 times, in about 600 days, before reaching maturity; can live up to 15 months.
Other Information: Have shown a marked attraction to alcoholic beverages, especially beer; also known as the water bug.

Brownbanded Cockroach

Supella Longipalpa

Appearance: About 5/8" long; wings have two brownish-yellow bands.
Habits: Nocturnal; can fly; may be found throughout any structure, but prefer dry, warm areas, high locations, and inside furniture.
Diet: Scavengers; eat almost anything.
Reproduction: Female carries egg capsule for 24 to 36 hours, then attaches it underneath or on the side of a protected surface; capsules contain an average of 18 eggs; nymphs reach maturity in an average of 161 days; adults live up to 10 months.
Other Information: Sometimes confused with German cockroach; often hide egg capsules in furniture; not as dependent on moisture as other species.

German Cockroach

Blattella Germanica

Appearance: About 5/8" long; light to medium brown, with two dark longitudinal streaks on the thorax.
Habits: Nocturnal; primarily infest areas close to food, moisture and warmth; most common cockroach found in and around apartments, homes, supermarkets and restaurants.
Diet: Scavengers; eat almost anything.
Reproduction: Females can produce one egg capsule every 20 to 25 days; each capsule contains from 18 to 48 eggs; newly born become adults in as little as 36 days; adults can live up to one year.
Other Information: Extremely heavy infestations are not uncommon; often found aboard ships; widest distribution of all cockroaches.

Oriental Cockroach

Blatta Orientalis

Appearance: Dark brown; about 1" long.
Habits: Common outdoors; often enter buildings through sewer pipes; tend to live near the ground and in warm damp areas.
Diet: Eat anything, but found often feeding on garbage, sewage, and decaying organic matter; seem to prefer starches if available.
Reproduction: Egg capsules contain 16 eggs; female will produce an average of eight capsules; nymphs go through seven molts before becoming adult, in about a year; adults can live up to 180 days.
Other Information: Also known as water bugs or black beetles; more sluggish than other species; give off distinctive unpleasant odor.

Smokey Brown Cockroach

Periplaneta Fuliginosa

Appearance: Dark brown, up to 1" and 1½" long.
Habits: Prefers to live outdoors; populations are relatively immobile compared to other species.
Diet: Scavengers; eat almost anything; normally feed on plant material.
Reproduction: Egg capsules hatch in 24 to 70 days;each contains an average of 20 eggs; females reach maturity in 320 days and produce an average of seven capsules; adults can live up to 200 days.
Other Information: Particularly numerous in southeastern U.S.; fly towards lights at night.

Beetles

Anobiid Powderpost Beetle

Family Anobiidae

Appearance: Dark brown to blackish-brown, about 1/8" to ¼"; range in shape from slender and elongated to oval.
Habits: Larvae live in and create tunnels in hardwoods and softwoods, usually more than ten years old; create small, round holes of 1/16" to 1/8" diameter, which appear especially in structural timbers.
Diet: Larvae feed on both hardwoods and softwoods.
Reproduction: Life cycle averages two to three years, with the majority of time spent in the destructive larval stage; females lay about 50 eggs.
Other Information: The potential for damage is greatest in the early period of infestation, when the number of exit holes in the wood is low.

Bostrichid Powderpost Beetle

Family Bostrichidae

Appearance: Reddish brown to black, about 1/8" to ¼"; elongated and slender.
Habits: Females bore into wood and create tunnels for laying eggs; infest both softwoods and hardwoods, but cause most damage in hardwoods.
Diet: Usually new wood, less than ten years old.
Reproduction: Eggs are laid inside tunnels; larvae complete their development usually in about one year, but have been known to take up to five.
Other Information: Often found in oak, firewood, and furniture.

Carpet Beetle

Order Coleoptera

Appearance: Small, rounded, gray to blackish, with a varied pattern of whitish and orange scales on the back; shape resembles the lady bug; about 1/5" long.
Habits: Adults often inhabit flowerbeds; can enter the home when cut flowers are brought in; outside, feeds on pollen and nectar.
Diet: In homes, larvae will eat carpet and woolen fabric and other animal products.
Reproduction: Female lays 30 to 100 eggs, which hatch in 10 to 18 days; larval stage lasts 60 to 325 days; adults live 20 to 60 days.
Other Information: All damage is done by the larvae; contact with carpet beetles can cause dermatitis in humans.

Flour Beetle

Order Genus Coleoptera

Appearance: Flattened, oblong and reddish-brown; about one-seventh inch long; larvae are one-fourth inch long and are white to yellow.
Habits: Infest stored grain and grain products; small size enables them to work themselves into many sealed containers.
Diet: Feed on a variety of foods, but most commonly flour and cereal products.
Reproduction: Females lay an average of 300 to 400 eggs; life cycle usually takes about seven weeks, but may last up to three months; four or five generations per year.
Other Information: Attracted to light, but quickly run for cover when disturbed; adults may live as long as three years; impart a disagreeable odor and taste to the flour they infest.

Old House Borer Beetle

Hylotrupes Bajulus

Appearance: Adults are black to brownish-black, about 5/8" to 1" long; slightly flattened; wing covers are usually completely black, but may have distinct white markings.
Habits: Larval stage feeds on seasoned timber for two to ten years before becoming an adult beetle; adult emerges from infested wood, leaving ¼" oval exit hole, and mates, living only 10 to 15 days.
Diet: Larval stage feeds on wood with moisture content of between 10 and 20 percent; prefers softwoods.
Reproduction: Life cycle averages three to five years, but can take as long as 12 years, depending on environmental and nutritional conditions, with the majority of time spent in the destructive larval stage.
Other Information: Contrary to its name, it occurs mostly in houses less than 10 years old.

Powder Post Beetle

Family Lyctidae

Appearance: Adults are small, slender and flattened, reddish brown to black; from 1/8" to ¼"; short antennae; larvae are usually less than ¼" long, cream colored and slightly C-shaped.
Habits: Attack the sapwood of hardwoods, especially oak, hickory and ash; create small, round holes which appear in hardwood floors, furniture, molding and fixtures.
Diet: Starch, sugar and protein in the sapwood of hardwoods; prefer moisture content of between 10 and 20 percent.
Reproduction: Life cycle averages one year, with the majority of time spent in the destructive larval stage; females lay an average of 20 to 50 eggs.
Other Information: Most common and widespread of the wood-boring beetles; pinhole openings in wood are a sign of infestation.

Crickets

Camel Cricket

Tachycines Asynamorous

Appearance: Light tan to dark brown; ½" to 1½" long; hump-back appearance.
Habits: Found in cool, damp areas, such as under logs or stones, and in crawl spaces, basements and attics; nocturnal.
Diet: Will eat just about anything; they have been known to feed on clothes and lace curtains.
Reproduction: Females lay eggs in spring, which hatch around April; there is only one generation per year.
Other Information: Unlike other crickets, they do not chirp; they become immobile in the presence of strong light.

Field Cricket

Tachycines Asynamorous

Appearance: ½" to 1¼" long, black.
Habits: Found in pastures, meadows, lawns, occasionally indoors.
Diet: Eat almost anything but are partial to field crops, especially alfalfa, wheat, oats, rye; will also feed on textiles of cotton, linen, wool and silk.
Reproduction: Usually one generation per year. Generally hatch in May, become adults in July and August, mate then die in September.
Other Information: Occasionally break out in massive numbers, with swarms covering many square miles.

House Cricket

Acheta Domesticus

Appearance: ¾" to 1" long, light yellowish brown, with three darker brown bands on the head.
Habits: Nocturnal; prefer warm areas such as kitchen, basement, fireplace; also in cracks and crevices, behind baseboards; make distinctive, annoying chirping sound.
Diet: Eat just about anything, but love bread crumbs and liquids, including beer; often ruin stored clothing.
Reproduction: Eggs deposited singly in crevices and behind baseboards; 40 to 170 eggs laid at one stage; egg stage lasts eight to 12 weeks.
Other Information: May bite when captured.

Moths

Clothes Moth

Order Lepidoptera

Appearance: Larvae are shiny, white worms about ½" long; adults have narrow fringed wings, are yellowish brown and also about ½" long.
Habits: Prefer darkness; can disappear quickly if disturbed.
Diet: Wool and other fabrics; fur; other protein-based materials.
Reproduction: Adult females lay up to 200 eggs; larvae reach maturity in 35 days to two and one-half years; adults live 15-30 days.
Other Information: Adult clothes moths are incapable of eating anything; it is the larvae which do all the damage.

Indian Meal Moth

Plodia Interpunctella

Appearance: Adults have wing spread of 5/8"; wings are pale grey, with outer portion of forewing reddish brown; larvae are about ½" long, with dirty white color.
Habits: Adults fly mainly at night.
Diet: Larvae feed on all kinds of grains, flours and dried fruits; its extensive webbing spoils more food than it consumes.
Reproduction: Females lay between 200 to 400 eggs in spring; complete life cycle ranges from four to six weeks.
Other Information: Larvae and adults are often mistaken for clothes moths; adults live only one or two weeks.

Others

Bed Bug

Family Cimicidae

Appearance: Adults are beyween ¼" and 3/8"; rusty red/brown to mahogany coloured; oval shaped and wingless.
Habits: Feed at night or at any other time if the room is dark; live in bedclothes, mattresses, bedsprings and frames, soft furnishings, cracks and crevices, and under wallpaper.
Diet: Bloodsucking parasites of humans, but may also feed on bats, chickens and some domestic animals; after feeding they become swollen, longer and dark red to dark brown in colour.
Reproduction: Females can lay between 200 to 500 sticky, white eggs in batches of 10 to 50; eggs are about 1/3" long and are laid in crackes or crvices, never on humans; complete life cycle ranges from five weeks to 4 months depending on the temperature and availability of food.
Other Information: Bed bug bites are painless but it is their saliva that can cause irritation, swelling and redness; when there are many of them there is often a bad smell.

Book Lice

Family Psocidae

Appearance: Colorless to gray or light brown, ranging from 1/25" to 1/12" long.
Habits: Prefer to live in damp, warm areas; can be found outdoors in grass or leaves, and in areas where molds grow.
Diet: Microscopic molds and starchy materials such as paste and glues of book bindings and wallpaper.
Reproduction: Single female produces between 120 to 456 offspring; lifetime averages 24 to 110 days.
Other Information: Most numerous in houses during spring and summer; may become abundant and cause damage to books.

Flea

Order Siphonaptera

Appearance: Black to brownish-black, about one-twelfth to 1/16" long; six legs, with many bristles on body and legs; flattened body.
Habits: Found on cats and dogs year-round, but most common during warm and humid weather; readily attack and feed on humans; can jump as much as 7/8" vertically, and 14" to 16" horizontally.
Diet: Blood
Reproduction: Female can lay about 25 eggs a day, and up to 800 eggs during her lifetime; fleas undergo complete metamorphosis, usually in 14 to 90 days.
Other Information: Carrier of many diseases; adults can live one to two months without feeding.

Earwig

Order Dermaptera

Appearance: 5/8" long, dark reddish-brown, with yellow-brown legs; large forceps (cerci) on the end of the abdomen, which pose no threat to humans.
Habits: Found all over homes, particularly in cracks and crevices near or on the ground; active primarily at night.
Diet: Scavengers; will eat just about anything.
Reproduction: Up to 60 eggs are laid in burrows in the ground and guarded by the female; hatch in the spring.
Other Information: Many species have a gland which secretes a foul-smelling, yellowish brown liquid when threatened.

Centipede

Class Chilopoda

Appearance: Flattened, with one pair of legs on most of their segments; segments number from 10 to 100; 1" to 1½" long; various colors.
Habits: Usually live outdoors beneath damp accumulations of leaves, stones, boards, etc. Occasionally find their way into homes, where they hide in moist basements, damp closets and bathrooms; when disturbed, they run swiftly.
Diet: Insects and spiders.
Life Span: Some species live as long as five to six years.
Other Information: Large jaws can inject poison, but a bite is comparable to a wasp sting, and is not life-threatening.

Millipede

Class Diplopoda

Appearance: Brownish, 1" to 1½" long; segmented, with a pair of legs per segment.
Habits: Nocturnal; normally live outdoors under objects located on damp soil; hordes will crawl into homes.
Diet: Damp and decaying wood and plant matter.
Reproduction: Eggs are deposited in the soil; most species reach sexual maturity in the second year, and live several years after that.
Other Information: Occasional epidemics occur, where thousands of millipedes will infest an area, sometimes carpeting the ground with their bodies.

Silverfish

Order Thysanura

Appearance: About ¼" to ½" long, somewhat "carrot-shaped" from above; gray or silver-colored; three filaments extend from rear.
Habits: Nocturnal; move swiftly, can jump; found where there is excessive humidity; do great damage to books, wallpaper, other paper products.
Diet: Prefer starch, paste, glue; paper products of all kinds; starched textiles.
Reproduction: Two to three month reproductive cycle; lay about 50 eggs per hatch; live two to two and a half years.
Other Information: Thought to belong to one of the most primitive existing insect orders, more than 400 million years old.

Tick

Order Acarina

Appearance: Appearance differs by species, but all adults are very small, roundish, with eight legs (larvae or seed ticks have six legs); 1/8" to ½" long.
Habits: Live on the bodies of mammals, birds and reptiles.
Diet: Blood; all species can swell to a considerable size after feeding.
Reproduction: Differs by species, but typical indoor cycle begins with up to 5,000 eggs laid in floor cracks and carpets; eggs hatch in 19 to 60 days; larvae will lay in wait for contact with suitable host.
Other Information: Ticks are known carriers of many serious diseases, including encephalitis, tick paralysis, typhus and Lyme disease; adults can live over 500 days without a meal.