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Pests/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| Spider Identifcation | 1/30/2012 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: Can you identify these spiders found in an apartment near Ft. Collins, CO. The largest cocoon is ... A: Bob, I can't see the spiders clearly enough to id (in fact spiders are very difficult to id from ... | ||
| Beetle | 1/22/2012 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I have an infestation of black shiny small beetles approx 3m x 2mm on my ornamental cherry tree the ... A: Jane, There are so many beetles that would fit this description that it is impossible for me to ... | ||
| tiny white bugs | 1/17/2012 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: i have recently found some very small(about the size of a grain of sugar)white insects in my ... A: Michelle, These are probably mold mites, also called grain mites (there may be other common names ... | ||
| Unseen bugs | 1/12/2012 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: My mother and I live in a very old house with rotting floors and joist(?). Lately, we have been ... A: Mel, My experience is that when no actual culprit is found the cause of these "bites" is usually ... | ||
| Help! I cannot identify this bug. | 12/27/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: while trying to prevent and get rid of these gnats I noticed some black spots on my plants. when I ... A: Aphids will almost always return at some point, and some plants are more susceptible than others. ... | ||
| Larvae | 12/27/2011 | Mike Mascio |
| Q: I'm pretty sure this is the same kind of bug. I don't like them. I've lived in the same apartment ... A: It is definitely the larvae of some type of bug. Since most larvae look the same, it is impossible ... | ||
| wasps and yellow jackets in my houses | 12/27/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I have a fear of wasps and yellow jackets. My first house had wasps coming in though a broken ... A: It is not unusual for yellowjackets to enter houses, nests can be constructed in walls and chimneys ... | ||
| wasps and yellow jackets in my houses | 12/26/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I have a fear of wasps and yellow jackets. My first house had wasps coming in though a broken ... A: Babs, Bees and wasps are not attracted to individuals. What may be happening is that your innate ... | ||
| Help! I cannot identify this bug. | 12/21/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: while trying to prevent and get rid of these gnats I noticed some black spots on my plants. when I ... A: Nicole, The gnat you describe is probably a dark winged fungus gnat (see ... | ||
| caterpillar in house | 11/16/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: i saw a caterpillar in the house when i was sweeping behind the couch this is not a millipede it was ... A: Danny, Clothes moth larvae are small, whitish caterpillars and they generally occur in out-of-way ... | ||
| Wierd Bugs!! | 11/14/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: i live in england and am visiting a friend on the Isle of wight. Last night after letting the dogs ... A: Lucy, This looks like a large aphid, possibly the large willow aphid (see ... | ||
| Midge fly infestation | 11/9/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: We live near Washington DC in a cottage, in a tightly packed neighborhood, on a ridge overlooking ... A: Tam, I think your analysis is correct. Midges (Chironomidae) develop in standing water and waste ... | ||
| Cockroach? | 11/7/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I was hoping you'd be able to identify this. I'm strongly hoping for the outcome to be beetle or ... A: Leia, This is a cockroach (see http://www.livingwithbugs.com/cockroaches.html for more info) but I ... | ||
| Insect pest | 11/3/2011 | Jim Hyland |
| Q: Hyland, We are troubled by an insect which has only been seen here (in the UK) in recent years. It ... A: There are many many different species of lady bugs--really a beetle, it would be difficult to ID ... | ||
| insect pest | 11/3/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: We are troubled by an insect which has only been seen here (in the UK) in recent years. It is like a ... A: Ken, Could you attach a picture? This sounds like a stink bug (Pentatomidae) but I'd need to see a ... | ||
| Black widow infestation | 10/24/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: there currently is a black widow infestation outside of my work place Where we are required to take ... A: Crystal, Normally when you see higher than normal numbers of spiders like this outdoors it is ... | ||
| house mites? | 10/18/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I recently noticed these tiny whites insects on my wooden bed frame and wooden drawers and dressers. ... A: Carol, This sounds like grain mites, also called mold mites (see ... | ||
| New Blanket of webs | 10/10/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: Good Day, Over the weekend we were at my father's farm in Southern Alberta and there was an amazing ... A: Kim, Certain cobweb spiders make huge communial webs usually near a body of water that supports ... | ||
| Cennipeds | 10/6/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I live in a 4 plex and I have cennipeds coming in my apartment at nite and I want to know if they ... A: Carol, Centipedes enter homes when the soils outside are too wet. If it has rained a lot lately ... | ||
| Money Tree and fungus | 10/1/2011 | Mike Mascio |
| Q: My husband and I have a money tree plant we recently received for our new home. We transplanted in ... A: Your diagnosis regarding the over watering is absolutely correct. It is the primary cause of ... | ||
| Something is biting me at night and driving me nuts...can you help? | 9/26/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: We live in central oregon, and I have had three episodes of something biting me at night, leaving a ... A: I know that mosquitoes can be a problem in parts of central Oregon, especially Harney Co. Some of ... | ||
| Something is biting me at night and driving me nuts...can you help? | 9/24/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: We live in central oregon, and I have had three episodes of something biting me at night, leaving a ... A: Myrtle, There are only a small number of insects or mites that actually bite people. Here's a list ... | ||
| Whitefly | 9/23/2011 | Mike Mascio |
| Q: i'm from Malaysia and I recently planted 3 pots of bird eye's chilli from seed. They are all ... A: Insecticidal soaps are very safe, whether you mix your own or purchase it from the nursery. However, ... | ||
| Pests in Windows | 9/20/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: Jack, I am staying with my grandmother in the Green Bay area and today I noticed a white nest in ... A: Jacqueline, There should be a button on the question page where you can upload a single image (are ... | ||
| Ants | 9/8/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: Me and my mom were in the living room watching TV. I had a plate of nachos, and I put them down. And ... A: Nathan, The best way to control large ant nests is with baits. Baits are food that ants are ... | ||
| snails | 9/7/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: We have so many snails , on the house , on the carport, on the outside furniture, they seem to be ... A: Pamela, Snails (and slugs, their shell-less cousins) are often attracted to water so my first ... | ||
| snails | 8/29/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I live in Houston, Texas and have had a severe snail infestation since the spring. Plants that have ... A: You'll probably need to treat several times a year, follow package instructions carefully. Both ... | ||
| snails | 8/29/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I live in Houston, Texas and have had a severe snail infestation since the spring. Plants that have ... A: H, The best way to manage both slugs and snails is with poison baits. The safest baits use iron ... | ||
| Pest - Beetle | 8/18/2011 | Jim Hyland |
| Q: I have this beetle on the leaves of my giant pumpkins. I live in the Sacramento valley/Foothills of ... A: These are called squash bugs, they are not true beetles. Squash bugs, Anasa tristis (order ... | ||
| Caterpillar/worm | 8/18/2011 | Jim Hyland |
| Q: I was wondering if you could help identify this worm/caterpillar that made a cocoon on the side of ... A: Looks like the Luna moth. This is a pale green moth that you might see around porch lights. One of ... | ||
| Grubs and grass | 8/11/2011 | Mike Mascio |
| Q: I have lost the grass on my septic field twice now from grubs. I did buy a load of nice topsoil the ... A: Although Grub-ex is a great short term control, it must be applied every year. This can be ... | ||
| Question about inchworm identification. | 8/2/2011 | Jim Hyland |
| Q: I live in Southern California, and over the last couple of years, I have had these strange looking ... A: With out a picture it will be very difficult to ID the caterpillar. It is one of the bagworm species ... | ||
| leaves being eaten on my winter hrdy hibiscus | 7/23/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: Some insect is eating the leaves on my winter hardy.I have had this plant for approx 15 yrs and this ... A: Paul, There are a number of insects that will do this kind of damage, called "skeletonizing". You ... | ||
| microscopic bugs on my deck and wood, | 7/22/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: i live in new hampshire and have recently found these tiny micro bugs all over my decks and any wood ... A: Jason, Most likely these are barklice (psocids). They are not related to true lice and do not bite. ... | ||
| mites? hiding an old photo album | 7/21/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I was looking though a family "photo" album from about 1918-22, which had photographs plus clipped ... A: Diane, The only thing I can think of that fits this description are grain mites, also called mold ... | ||
| Flower roots being eaten | 7/20/2011 | Stephen Vantassel |
| Q: Trying to figure out what is eating my flowers roots. Two of my gerber daisies have been attacked ... A: Sounds like voles. Details on this species available at http://icwdm.org ditto on the deer. Read ... | ||
| Beetles | 7/20/2011 | Mike Mascio |
| Q: i need your help to get red of lots of pests, i am living in Abha-Saudi Arabia there is many kinds ... A: Regardless of the species, Sevin is a highly effective control. I always prefer to start with ... | ||
| tiny black bugs in my house | 7/18/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I have these little black bugs in my house there aren't a lot of them, but i find them in every ... A: Kate, I can't see the critter clearly enough to be certain but I think you are describing one of ... | ||
| Burrowing Insect | 7/16/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I think I have a burrowing insect on my property. I'm inquiring to find out it is an insect, and if ... A: Dave, This sounds like a cicada killer wasp (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_cicada_killer ... | ||
| Millipedes | 7/14/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: we are having a problem with what we believe are garden millipedes. We live near Frackville, Pa, and ... A: The picture is fine, thanks for adding it. These are indeed millipedes. I thought at first that they ... | ||
Pests
Answers by Expert:
Jack DeAngelis
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can answer questions in any area of entomology (study of insects, spiders, mites, ticks, and other terrestrial arthropods). Contact me about home and garden insects such as aphids and spider mites, insects that bite and sting such as ticks and wasps, and insects that damage homes such as carpenter ants and termites.
Experience
20 years as university extension entomologist, now retired; currently publish a website about home and garden insects.
Organizations
see www.livingwithbugs.com/resume.html
Publications
see www.livingwithbugs.com/resume.html
Fine Gardening magazine
Education/Credentials
Ph.D. in Entomology (the study of insects)
Awards and Honors
see www.livingwithbugs.com/resume.html
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