Crawling Insects:
European Earwigs (Forficula auricularia)
Category: General Crawling
3/4' long, reddish-brown insects that have curved rear pincers. They are found in lawns and occasionally inside. They feed on vegetation. Their pincers make these insects appear dangerous, but they are of no harm to humans.
Centipedes (Scutigera coleoptrata)
Category: General Crawling
3/4 - 1" yellowish to dark brown in color, centipedes are long and flat with many segments to their bodies. They inhabit moist dark areas, such as basements, closets and bathrooms.
Millipedes (Class Diplopoda)
Category: General Crawling
Average around 2" in length. Usually blackish or brownish in color. Millipedes are often referred to as "thousand-leggers". The are typically found in areas of high moisture and decaying vegetation such as under trash, piles of grass clippings, mulches, etc. They are most active at night.
Pavement Ants (Tetramorium caespitum)
Category: General Crawling
1/16 - 1/8" long, body light brown to black with paler legs and antennae. Pavement ants nest outdoors under stones, sidewalks and concrete slabs, but will occasionally nest in walls or under floors. These ants also swarm (have wings) in the spring time and are often mistaken for termite swarmers.
Pillbugs and Sowbugs (Order Isopoda)
Category: General Crawling
1/2' long pests that feed upon decaying vegetation. They live and breed under objects that are on damp soil. Pillbugs and sowbugs often infest basements, crawl spaces and potted plants.
Silverfish (Lepisma saccharina)
Category: General Crawling
1/2 - 5/8" in length. With color variations from gray to black, this wingless, slender insect has long antennae, shiny scales and three tail-like cerci. Silverfish like warm, damp undisturbed areas. Their food sources are those such as cereals, flour, paper, curtains, wallpaper and other starchy materials. Silverfish can severely damage books.
Spiders (Order Araneae) Category: General Crawling
1/2 - 1 1/2" long. Most spiders are not poisonous and like warm, dark places. In homes, they frequent wall cracks, corners, air vents, and the area beneath shingles and eaves. They are also found in woodpiles, under stones and on leaves. They are active at night, searching for insects to eat.
Cockroaches
Category: General Crawling
Cockroaches carry bacteria such as salmonella, and may also increase the risk of asthma, especially in children. The most common cockroaches in our area are the German cockroach, the Pennsylvania wood cockroach, the Oriental cockroach, and the Brown-banded cockroach.
Brown-banded Cockroach (Supella longipalpa)
Category: General Crawling
5/8" long, with light and dark bands on its back. The Brown- banded cockroach, unlike other roaches, prefers a dry living area. They can often be found in light switches, outlets, lamps, etc. Females produce 600 offspring.
German Cockroach (Blatella germanica)
Category: General Crawling
5/8" long, brownish-yellow with two dark stripes behind its head. The German cockroach is the most common cockroach and prefers moist, warm, dark areas. It is often found in kitchen cabinets, bathrooms, ceiling voids and appliance motors. A single female can produce 36 offspring every 30-40 days.
Pennsylvania Wood Cockroach (Parcoblatta Pensylvanica)
Category: General Crawling
1/2 - 3/4" long, chestnut brown colored and identified by the white stripes on the edges of the thorax and front portion of the wings. They live in tree stumps, hollow trees, rotted logs, firewood, etc.
Oriental Cockroach (Blatta orientalis)
Category: General Crawling
1 - 1 1/2" being black in color, this roach is commonly called a sewer roach or waterbug. They live in cool, moist areas, such as crawl spaces, drain pipes, etc. A single female will produce about 200 offspring.