Rodents

Rodents are a primary concern for property owners, especially in the fall and winter as they seek shelter from the cold. They pose significant health risks and can cause serious property damage.

Mice

House Mouse

Common Name: House Mouse
Scientific Name: Mus musculus
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Muridae
Origin: Native to Asia, now found worldwide.
Seasonal Details: While active year-round indoors, house mice will invade structures most often in the fall and winter as they seek warmth and food.
How to Recognize Them: Small-bodied, typically grayish-brown with a gray or buff-colored belly and a long, sparsely haired tail. They can squeeze through an opening the size of a pen cap. Signs of their presence include small, black, rice-shaped droppings and nests made of shredded paper or fabric.
Damage They Cause: They pose a health risk by contaminating food and surfaces with their droppings and urine. They can also cause structural damage by gnawing through packaging and electrical wiring.

Learn more about the House Mouse on Wikipedia

Deer Mouse

Common Name: Deer Mouse
Scientific Name: Peromiscus maniculatus
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Origin: Native to North America.
Seasonal Details: Deer mice prefer wooded areas but will move into homes, sheds, and garages in the fall to escape the cold and find food.
How to Recognize Them: Recognizable by its bicolored body—typically grayish to reddish-brown on top with a distinct white belly and feet. Its tail is also bicolored and shorthaired. They are excellent climbers.
Damage They Cause: Deer mice contaminate food and nesting areas. They are the primary carrier of Hantavirus, a serious respiratory disease that can be transmitted to humans through airborne dust from their droppings and urine.

Learn more about the Deer Mouse on Wikipedia

White-Footed Mouse

Common Name: White-Footed Mouse
Scientific Name: Peromyscus leucopus
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Origin: Native to North America.
Seasonal Details: Like other mice, the white-footed mouse seeks shelter indoors during the fall and winter. They are common invaders of suburban and rural homes near fields or woods.
How to Recognize Them: Very similar in appearance to the deer mouse, with a brownish body, white belly, and white feet. They are a common host for the black-legged tick, which transmits Lyme disease.
Damage They Cause: They contaminate food sources and can cause damage by gnawing. Their association with ticks makes them an indirect vector for Lyme disease.

Learn more about the White-Footed Mouse on Wikipedia

Rats

Norway Rat

Common Name: Norway Rat (also known as Brown Rat or Sewer Rat)
Scientific Name: Rattus norvegicus
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Muridae
Origin: Native to Asia.
Seasonal Details: A year-round pest, Norway rats are more likely to move indoors during the fall and winter to find shelter and food.
How to Recognize Them: A large, heavyset rodent with coarse brown fur, a blunt nose, and small ears. Its tail is shorter than its body length. They are burrowers, often found in basements, crawl spaces, and sewers.
Damage They Cause: Norway rats contaminate food and surfaces with droppings and urine. They are known carriers of numerous diseases. Their powerful jaws can cause significant damage by gnawing through pipes, wood, and wiring.

Learn more about the Norway Rat on Wikipedia

Common Indoor & Structural Pests

These pests have adapted to live alongside humans and can cause significant health risks or damage to the structure of your home.

Wood-Destroying Insects

Carpenter Ant

Common Name: Carpenter Ant
Scientific Name: Camponotus spp.
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Origin: Native to North America.
Seasonal Details: They are most active from late spring to mid-summer. However, if a nest is established inside a heated home, they can remain active throughout the winter, bypassing their natural dormant cycle.
How to Recognize Them: The key indicator of an indoor infestation is seeing carpenter ants during the winter. They often establish satellite colonies in homes, while the main colony is typically located outdoors in a tree. Piles of coarse sawdust (frass) are another common sign.
Damage They Cause: Carpenter ants do not eat wood; they excavate it to build nests, preferring wood that is moist or decaying. This excavation creates smooth, clean galleries and can lead to significant structural damage over time.

Learn more about Carpenter Ants on Wikipedia

Carpenter Bee

Common Name: Carpenter Bee
Scientific Name: Xylocopa virginica
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Origin: Native to the Eastern United States.
Seasonal Details: Adults emerge in the spring to mate and excavate nests. They are most active throughout the spring and summer months.
How to Recognize Them: They resemble large bumble bees but have a shiny, black, hairless abdomen (bumble bees have a fuzzy, hairy abdomen). They are often seen hovering around eaves, decks, and wooden outdoor furniture.
Damage They Cause: Females drill perfectly round, half-inch diameter holes into unpainted or weathered wood to lay their eggs. While a single bee causes minimal damage, multiple bees nesting in the same area over years can weaken the wood’s structural integrity.

Learn more about the Carpenter Bee on Wikipedia

Eastern Subterranean Termite

Common Name: Eastern Subterranean Termite
Scientific Name: Reticulitermes flavipes
Class: Insecta
Order: Blattodea
Family: Rhinotermitidae
Origin: Native to North America.
Seasonal Details: Winged reproductive termites, known as swarmers, are typically seen in the spring as they leave the colony to mate and form new ones. The worker termites, which cause the damage, are active year-round within the structure, hidden from view.
How to Recognize Them: Key signs include pencil-sized mud tubes on foundation walls, wood that sounds hollow when tapped, or the presence of shed wings from swarmers near windows or doors.
Damage They Cause: Termites consume wood from the inside out, silently causing extensive and costly structural damage to homes before the infestation is even discovered.

Learn more about the Eastern Subterranean Termite on Wikipedia

Public Health Pests

American Cockroach

Common Name: American Cockroach
Scientific Name: Periplaneta americana
Class: Insecta
Order: Blattodea
Family: Blattidae
Origin: Native to Africa and the Middle East, now distributed worldwide.
Seasonal Details: A year-round pest in indoor environments, they thrive in warm, very damp locations.
How to Recognize Them: The largest house-infesting cockroach, reddish-brown with a yellowish figure-eight pattern on the back of its head. They are commonly found in dark, moist areas like basements, boiler rooms, and sewers.
Damage They Cause: They are a major health concern, capable of spreading bacteria like Salmonella. They can contaminate food and trigger allergies and asthma attacks.

Learn more about the American Cockroach on Wikipedia

German Cockroach

Common Name: German Cockroach
Scientific Name: Blattella germanica
Class: Insecta
Order: Blattodea
Family: Ectobiidae
Origin: Invasive species that originated in Asia.
Seasonal Details: German cockroaches are a year-round problem. They breed continuously in warm, humid indoor environments like kitchens and bathrooms, unaffected by outdoor seasons.
How to Recognize Them: These pests are prolific breeders, with a single female capable of producing hundreds of eggs in her lifetime. They are attracted to warm, moist areas with available food sources, making commercial kitchens an ideal habitat.
Damage They Cause: They are a significant health risk, known to carry and transmit diseases and contaminate food and surfaces.

Learn more about German Cockroaches on Wikipedia

Bed Bug

Common Name: Bed Bug
Scientific Name: Cimex lectularius
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Family: Cimicidae
Origin: Co-evolved with humans globally.
Seasonal Details: Bed bugs are active year-round in temperature-controlled indoor environments.
How to Recognize Them: Small, flat, oval-shaped, and reddish-brown. They are often found hiding in mattress seams, box springs, headboards, and cracks in furniture. Telltale signs include small, dark fecal spots on bedding, shed skins, and bites arranged in a line or cluster on exposed skin.
Damage They Cause: While not known to transmit disease, their bites can cause intensely itchy welts and secondary skin infections from scratching. Infestations are a significant source of psychological stress and are notoriously difficult to eliminate.

Learn more about Bed Bugs on Wikipedia

Flea

Common Name: Cat Flea (most common flea on dogs and cats)
Scientific Name: Ctenocephalides felis
Class: Insecta
Order: Siphonaptera
Family: Pulicidae
Origin: Found worldwide, associated with domestic animals.
Seasonal Details: Flea populations peak in the warm, humid months of late summer and early fall but can persist year-round indoors.
How to Recognize Them: Small, dark, reddish-brown, wingless insects with bodies flattened from side-to-side, allowing them to move easily through fur. They have powerful legs for jumping. Often identified by pets scratching excessively or by “flea dirt” (flea feces) that looks like black pepper.
Damage They Cause: Flea bites cause itchy, irritating welts on both pets and humans. They can transmit diseases like tapeworms and cause flea allergy dermatitis in sensitive pets.

Learn more about Fleas on Wikipedia

Nuisance Pests

Pavement Ant

Common Name: Pavement Ant
Scientific Name: Tetramorium immigrans
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Origin: Native to Europe, now common in North America.
Seasonal Details: They are active from spring through fall. They often enter homes in the summer while foraging for food.
How to Recognize Them: Small, dark brown to black ants. They get their name from their habit of nesting under sidewalks, driveways, and building foundations, pushing up small mounds of dirt.
Damage They Cause: They are primarily a nuisance pest. They do not cause structural damage but will contaminate food items left out in kitchens and pantries.

Learn more about the Pavement Ant on Wikipedia

Silverfish

Common Name: Silverfish
Scientific Name: Lepisma saccharinum
Class: Insecta
Order: Zygentoma
Family: Lepismatidae
Origin: Found worldwide.
Seasonal Details: Silverfish are active year-round in suitable indoor environments.
How to Recognize Them: Slender, wingless insects with a silvery-gray, carrot-shaped body and a distinctive wriggling, fish-like movement. They thrive in dark, damp, and humid places like basements, bathrooms, and attics.
Damage They Cause: They feed on starches and sugars, causing damage to items like books, wallpaper, clothing, and stored food products. They are primarily a nuisance pest.

Learn more about Silverfish on Wikipedia

Pests of the Yard & Landscape

These pests are commonly found outdoors and can pose health risks to people and pets enjoying their yards.

Biting & Stinging Pests

Bald-Faced Hornet

Common Name: Bald-Faced Hornet
Scientific Name: Dolichovespula maculata
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Vespidae
Origin: Native to North America.
Seasonal Details: Overwintering queens emerge in the spring to start a new nest. The colony grows rapidly and is most active and aggressive in the late summer and early fall.
How to Recognize Them: A large stinging insect, technically a yellow jacket, with a black body and a distinctive white pattern on its face. They build large, gray, paper-like, teardrop-shaped nests that are typically found in trees, shrubs, or on the sides of buildings.
Damage They Cause: They are extremely aggressive and will attack anyone or anything that invades their space, often in large numbers. Their stings are painful and can be dangerous, especially for individuals with allergies.

Learn more about the Bald-Faced Hornet on Wikipedia

Paper Wasp

Common Name: Paper Wasp
Scientific Name: Polistes spp.
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Vespidae
Origin: Various species are native to North America.
Seasonal Details: Overwintering queens emerge in the spring to build new nests. The colony grows throughout the summer and reaches its largest size in the late summer and early fall before dying off, leaving new queens to overwinter.
How to Recognize Them: Slender-waisted wasps, typically brown with yellow or reddish markings. Their signature nests are open-celled, umbrella-shaped paper combs and are often found hanging from eaves, porch ceilings, and window frames.
Damage They Cause: Paper wasps can deliver a painful sting if they feel their nest is threatened. They are less aggressive than yellow jackets but will defend their home vigorously.

Learn more about Paper Wasps on Wikipedia

Yellow Jacket

Common Name: Yellow Jacket
Scientific Name: Vespula and Dolichovespula species
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Vespidae
Origin: Various species are native to North America.
Seasonal Details: Colonies are started by a single queen in the spring and grow to thousands of workers by late summer, when they are most numerous and aggressive.
How to Recognize Them: Black and yellow banded stinging insects. They are foragers and are often a nuisance at outdoor gatherings. Most species build paper nests underground in old rodent burrows, but some, like the German Yellow Jacket, will nest in wall voids of homes.
Damage They Cause: They are highly aggressive, especially in the fall, and can sting repeatedly. Their stings are painful and can cause severe allergic reactions in some individuals.

Learn more about Yellow Jackets on Wikipedia

Mosquito

Common Name: Mosquito
Scientific Name: Culicidae (Family)
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Culicidae
Origin: Found worldwide.
Seasonal Details: Mosquitoes are most active in Massachusetts from late spring through the first hard frost in the fall. Their populations boom during warm, humid weather, especially after rainfall which creates breeding sites in standing water.
How to Recognize Them: Small, slender flies with long legs and a tube-like proboscis used for feeding. They are infamous for their high-pitched buzzing sound.
Damage They Cause: Only female mosquitoes bite to get a blood meal for egg development, leaving behind itchy red welts. More seriously, they are vectors for dangerous diseases in Massachusetts, including West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE).

Learn more about Mosquitoes on Wikipedia

Black-legged Tick (Deer Tick)

Common Name: Black-legged Tick (commonly called Deer Tick)
Scientific Name: Ixodes scapularis
Class: Arachnida
Order: Ixodida
Family: Ixodidae
Origin: Native to eastern North America.
Seasonal Details: Ticks can be active any time the temperature is above freezing. Nymphs are most prevalent in late spring and summer, while adults are most active in the spring and fall.
How to Recognize Them: Tiny, teardrop-shaped arachnids (not insects). Unfed adults are reddish-brown and about the size of a sesame seed, while nymphs are the size of a poppy seed. They are often found in wooded areas, tall grass, and leaf litter.
Damage They Cause: Their bite is the primary concern. The black-legged tick is the main vector in Massachusetts for transmitting Lyme disease, as well as other serious illnesses like anaplasmosis and babesiosis.

Learn more about the Black-legged Tick on Wikipedia

Seasonal & Overwintering Invaders

These pests live outdoors during the warmer months but become a major nuisance when they invade homes in large numbers to survive the winter.

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

Common Name: Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
Scientific Name: Halyomorpha halys
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Family: Pentatomidae
Origin: Invasive species from Asia.
Seasonal Details: Their activity peaks in the late fall when they migrate indoors to find shelter for the winter, a dormant state known as diapause. They can become active again indoors during sudden warm spells.
How to Recognize Them: They are known to congregate on the sunny sides of buildings in the fall as they search for cracks and crevices to enter. When disturbed, they can release a foul odor.
Damage They Cause: They are considered a nuisance pest and do not pose a threat to human health or property.

Learn more about the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug on Wikipedia

Asian Lady Beetle

Common Name: Asian Lady Beetle
Scientific Name: Harmonia axyridis
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Coccinellidae
Origin: Invasive species from Asia.
Seasonal Details: Similar to stink bugs, these beetles become a nuisance in the late fall as they seek sheltered places, like homes, to enter diapause and survive the winter.
How to Recognize Them: They often gather in large numbers on the sunny sides of buildings before moving indoors through cracks and gaps.
Damage They Cause: They are primarily a nuisance pest that does not threaten human health.

Learn more about the Asian Lady Beetle on Wikipedia

Invasive Threats to Trees & Gardens

These highly destructive invasive species pose a significant threat to Massachusetts’ ecosystems, agriculture, and landscape trees.

Plant & Crop Pests

Spotted Lanternfly

Common Name: Spotted Lanternfly
Scientific Name: Lycorma delicatula
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Family: Fulgoridae
Origin: Invasive pest from Asia.
Seasonal Details: The SLF has one generation per year. It overwinters as egg masses, which hatch in the spring. Nymphs are active in spring and summer, with adults appearing in late summer and laying eggs through the fall until the first freeze.
How to Recognize Them: Egg masses can be found on any smooth outdoor surface, from trees to vehicles. Nymphs go through stages where they are first black with white spots, and later, red with white spots. They are known as “hitchhiker” pests because adults and egg masses are easily moved to new areas.
Damage They Cause: This pest is a threat to agriculture and gardens, feeding on more than 100 different species of plants, including fruit trees, grapevines, and various ornamental and woody trees.

Learn more about the Spotted Lanternfly on Wikipedia

Wood-Boring Beetles

Asian Longhorned Beetle

Common Name: Asian Longhorned Beetle
Scientific Name: Anoplophora glabripennis
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Cerambycidae
Origin: Invasive pest from Asia that arrived in solid wood packing material.
Seasonal Details: Larvae burrow deep inside trees during the late summer and fall, with adult beetles emerging in the summer.
How to Recognize Them: The most distinct sign of an ALB infestation is the perfectly round, dime-sized exit holes the adults leave in trees.
Damage They Cause: The ALB is a devastating threat to Massachusetts’ hardwood trees, including all species of maple, elm, and birch. The larvae burrow deep into the heartwood, and once a tree is infested, it cannot be saved and must be removed.

Learn more about the Asian Longhorned Beetle on Wikipedia

Emerald Ash Borer

Common Name: Emerald Ash Borer
Scientific Name: Agrilus planipennis
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Buprestidae
Origin: Invasive wood-boring beetle from Asia.
Seasonal Details: The larvae feed under the bark year-round, while adult beetles typically emerge in the late spring.
How to Recognize Them: The key sign of an EAB infestation is the S-shaped galleries (tunnels) that the larvae create under the bark of ash trees.
Damage They Cause: The EAB is responsible for the death and decline of tens of millions of ash trees across North America. The larval feeding tunnels disrupt the tree’s ability to transport water and nutrients, eventually girdling and killing it.

Learn more about the Emerald Ash Borer on Wikipedia

Protect Your Sterling Home or Business Today with PESTalytix

Don’t wait for a pest invasion to become a major problem. A proactive, preventative approach tailored to our local Massachusetts environment is the most effective way to protect your property and peace of mind.

Pest Library

List of pests found in central massachusetts

Table of Contents