Working out what an insect is from what you can actually see: colour, location, movement and look-alikes.
Brown is the most crowded category in household insects. Sort small brown bugs by where they were found and what they were doing, not by colour alone.
Small Brown Bugs in the House: Identification Guide Read More »
Speed is a real diagnostic. House centipedes, cockroach nymphs, silverfish and ground beetles each run differently, and only one signals a real problem.
Fast Crawling Bugs in the House: What Moves Like That Read More »
Most positive lice checks are dandruff, hair casts or DEC plugs. One test separates them: a real nit is glued on and will not slide or brush away.
Bugs That Look Like Lice: Nits, Dandruff and Impostors Read More »
Crickets, ground beetles and water bugs all get called roaches. Two checks, on the antennae and on the wing cases, separate them in a single look.
Bugs That Look Like Cockroaches But Are Not Read More »
Pill bugs roll into a sphere, millipedes coil flat like a watch spring, and the difference tells you what it eats and whether it matters indoors.
Bugs That Curl Into a Ball When Touched Read More »
Start from what you can describe: the colour, the place, the way it moved. Four branches route you to the right identification without knowing any names.
What Bug Is This? Identify It by What You Actually Saw Read More »
Jumping narrows identification fast. Fleas, springtails, flea beetles, crickets and jumping spiders all leap, and only one of them bites people.
Bugs That Jump: How to Tell Fleas From the Others Read More »
Kitchen cupboard bugs are either in the food or came to it. That single question splits the list, and one contaminated packet usually explains everything.
Tiny Bugs in Kitchen Cabinets: Identification Guide Read More »
Bed bugs are reddish brown, not black. Here is what black bugs in a bed usually turn out to be, and the three checks that rule bed bugs in or out.
Tiny Black Bugs in Bed That Are Not Bed Bugs Read More »
THE SHORT VERSION Tiny black bugs indoors are usually carpet beetle larvae, fungus gnats, springtails, foreign grain beetles, or one of the small pantry beetles. Which one you have is decided almost entirely by two things: where in the house you found it, and whether it flies. Nothing on that list bites people, and nothing
Tiny Black Bugs in the House: What They Usually Are Read More »
