Greasy Rub Marks Along Skirting Boards
Dark smears at pinch points are body oil transferred by an animal travelling the same route nightly. They map the runway, which makes them worth reading.... Read more.
Yellow Stains on Bedding: Pest or Not
Most of it is not a pest at all. The staining that is comes with other evidence, and a damp white cloth separates the two in about ten seconds.... Read more.
Stains on Walls From Insects: What Made the Mark
Yellow spotting, dark smears and rusty specks are three different animals leaving three different substances. Colour and height narrow it quickly.... Read more.
A Sweet Oily Smell: The Cockroach Signature
Aggregation pheromone and cuticular oils, detectable before the insects are. Where the smell is strongest is where the harbourage is, which makes it useful.... Read more.
Nests in Vents and Soffits: What Is Living in the Gap
Blocked airflow is the real cost, not appearance. Which of bird, wasp, rodent or bee you have decides both the timing of any work and what the law allows.... Read more.
Mud Tubes on a Foundation: The Termite Sign That Matters
Pencil-width earth tunnels crossing bare concrete. The species that builds these does the structural damage, and it leaves no frass to warn you.... Read more.
Silk Tubes and Tunnels Indoors: What Spins Them
A tube rather than a sheet narrows it sharply. Case-bearing larvae, funnel weavers and pantry moths all build them, and only one of them moves.... Read more.
Bed Bug Shed Skins: The Evidence That Proves Breeding
Amber, hollow and translucent in five sizes. Skins show a population is reproducing, where droppings only show that something visited the room once.... Read more.
Webs in Corners: Spider, or Something Else
Dusty and abandoned or clean and occupied tells you more than the shape does. Web architecture names the family, and not all indoor silk is spider silk.... Read more.
Shed Insect Skins in the House: What Left Them
A hollow, perfect, empty insect is a moult and not a corpse. Which species leave them, where they collect, and why they are better evidence than a sighting.... Read more.