What is this bug?

Species artwork on these pages is AI-generated illustration produced for FreePestControlInspection.com — not photography. It is drawn to match the written identification marks, but where the two ever disagree, trust the text.

No match. Try describing what you saw instead — or let PestCheck narrow it down.

🪳 Cockroaches 4

German cockroach Blattella germanica Small, striped, and the only roach that truly lives and breeds indoors. High American cockroach Periplaneta americana The big reddish one. Lives in drains and sewers, comes indoors through a gap. Moderate Oriental cockroach Blatta orientalis Very dark, slow-moving, and a reliable sign of damp. Moderate Brown-banded cockroach Supella longipalpa Two pale bands across the back, and it lives high and dry rather than near water. High

🐜 Ants 4

Odorous house ant Tapinoma sessile The most common indoor ant trail, and the one spraying makes worse. Low Red imported fire ant Solenopsis invicta Mounds without a visible opening, and a sting you will not mistake. Medically significant Carpenter ant Camponotus species Large ants near damp wood, and the sawdust-like piles that give them away. Moderate Acrobat ant Crematogaster species Heart-shaped abdomen, held up over its back when you disturb it. Moderate

🪵 Termites 2

Eastern subterranean termite Reticulitermes flavipes The dominant termite in North Texas, and the reason mud tubes exist. High Drywood termite Incisitermes species Needs no soil contact, and leaves gritty pellets instead of mud tubes. High

🐭 Rodents 3

House mouse Mus musculus Rice-sized droppings, and a gap the width of a pencil is enough. Moderate Roof rat Rattus rattus The DFW attic rat. Climbs, and enters high via tree limbs. High Norway rat Rattus norvegicus Heavier, lower-dwelling, and burrows rather than climbs. High

🕷️ Spiders 4

🕷️ Brown recluse Loxosceles reclusa Six eyes, not eight. That is the reliable identifier, not the violin. Medically significant 🕷️ Black widow Latrodectus mactans Glossy black, red hourglass underneath, and almost always outdoors. Medically significant Wolf spider Lycosidae family Large, fast, alarming — and harmless. The most commonly misidentified spider. Low Cellar spider Pholcidae family Thin legs, messy webs, completely harmless — and it eats other spiders. Low

🐝 Wasps & bees 5

Paper wasp Polistes species Open umbrella-shaped nest with visible cells. Defensive, not aggressive. Moderate Yellowjacket Vespula species Enclosed nest, often underground or in a wall. The aggressive one. Medically significant Mud dauber Sceliphron and Chalybion species Builds mud tubes on walls, lives alone, and almost never stings. Low Carpenter bee Xylocopa species Bumblebee lookalike that drills perfectly round holes in wood. Low European hornet Vespa crabro The only true hornet in the US — and in North Texas, probably not what you have. Medically significant

🪰 Flies & mosquitoes 3

Mosquito Culex and Aedes species Bred in standing water on your own property, more often than not. Moderate House fly Musca domestica Four dark stripes behind the head, and a breeding site you can usually find. Moderate Drain fly Psychodidae family Fuzzy and moth-like, and it means a drain has a film inside it. Low

🩹 Biting pests 3

Bed bug Cimex lectularius Apple-seed shaped, flat, and nothing to do with how clean a home is. High Cat flea Ctenocephalides felis The flea on nearly every dog as well as every cat. Jumps; bed bugs do not. Moderate Tick Ixodidae family Eight legs, no wings, and it stays attached. Not an insect. Medically significant

🔎 Other pests 5

Silverfish Lepisma saccharina Teardrop-shaped, silvery, fast — and a reliable sign of humidity. Low Earwig Forficula auricularia and related species The pincers at the back are the whole identification. They are harmless. Low House cricket Acheta domesticus You hear it long before you find it — and in autumn they arrive in numbers. Low Centipede Chilopoda class One pair of legs per segment, and it moves fast. A predator, not a plant eater. Low Millipede Diplopoda class Two pairs of legs per segment, slow, and it curls into a spiral. Low