Five kinds of trace, each with a short suspect list. What to look at when the insect has gone and all that is left is what it built or left behind.
Pest Evidence: Reading Skins, Webs, Nests, Stains and Smells Read More »
Finely shredded, tightly packed and hidden means rodent. Loose, papery and layered in a sphere means wasp, and the two are never confused a second time.
Shredded Paper and Nesting Material: What Built It Read More »
Chewed corners, pinholes through foil, webbing inside a bag. The packet that failed names the pest and tells you whether it arrived with the food or found it.
Damaged Food Packaging: Pest Signs in a Pantry Read More »
Groove width separates mouse from rat, and fresh gnawing is pale against a weathered surface. That colour difference dates the activity better than droppings.
Gnaw Marks: Reading Rodent Damage on Wood and Plastic Read More »
Paired parallel grooves are rodent incisors. This is the one finding on the site that is a fire risk, so the order of what you do next actually matters.
Chewed Wires: Which Pest and What to Do First Read More »
Edge notches, shot holes, skeletonised patches and slime trails are four different culprits. The damage shape names the animal better than searching does.
Holes in Leaves: Reading Garden Damage Read More »
Moths graze irregular patches and leave webbing; beetles cut cleaner scattered holes. Where in the garment the damage sits matters as much as its shape.
Holes in Clothes: Moth or Carpet Beetle Read More »
Texture decides it: shavings, pellets, powder or pulp. Each points at a different insect, a different urgency and a different thing to look at next.
Sawdust Piles Indoors: Four Things That Make Them Read More »
Diameter and shape narrow it to a family before anything else. Round, oval or slot, powder or none, and whether the hole is an entrance or an exit.
Small Holes in Wood: Identifying What Made Them Read More »
Look up, not down. Pellets on a leaf or a path are a map to a feeder you have not spotted, and the size of them estimates how big it has grown.
Caterpillar Frass: Green Pellets Under a Plant Read More »
