The most common name mistakenly given to any crawling insect pest is “cockroach”. There are several crawling insects that will occasionally invade a structure that look similar to a cockroach, but have very different lifestyles. Of these, the most frequent bug masquerading as a cockroach is the Western Conifer Seed Bug. It is roughly the same size and shape as a German cockroach, and shares the same brownish coloration. Other insects, like the Ground Beetle and Box Elder Bug look less like the cockroach but are also often misidentified. Unlike the cockroach, none of these insects will breed and infest most structures. Usually these pests are nothing more than an occasional nuisance.

Identified as a Mouse—actually is a Meadow Vole.

There are many fury vertebrate pests that may live around your home or business. Often times, these critters are labeled as mice or moles. Did you know that there is a small animal known as a Meadow Vole? It is an occasional visitor to the odd garage or storage shed and misidentified as a mouse. Unlike the mouse however, the Meadow Vole prefers to live outside of the home, and poses little infestation risk.

Identified as a house fly—actually is a Blow fly or Cluster Fly.

Almost any fly-like insect found to be buzzing about the windows of a home is said to be a house fly. As the name suggests, the house fly is common to many homes, but there are several other types of flies that could indicate other significant problems. Blow flies for instance can indicate a dead carcass located somewhere in the structure, while cluster flies indicate a larger infestation attempting to over-winter in your structure.

Identified as a Non-Wood Ant—actually is a Carpenter Ant.

Some people think “an ant by any other name is still an ant”. Because as you may have heard, ants go by many names . . . Grease ants, Sugar ants, House ants, etc. Though they all have six legs, the potential risk they pose can be very different from one species to the next. The names listed above are all common names for several varieties of “Non-wood” or “Non-Wood infesting” ants. Their actual names may vary, but they all share a common trait of not infesting and destroying wood. The danger lies in the misidentification of one prolific ant in particular that can do significant structural damage. That ant is the Carpenter ant – and, if misidentified and left alone, a Carpenter ant colony can destroy wood in your home at an alarming rate.