What pest do I have?
Four questions. About 60 seconds. We'll narrow it to the most likely match and point you to the full guide. Best used in front of (or with a photo of) the actual pest — not from memory.
The identifier narrows the field — it doesn't confirm species. Always cross-check against the full pest guide (photos, look-alikes, regional notes) before treating. For brown recluse, black widow, or any bite with allergic symptoms, contact a medical professional.
How the identifier works
The tool weighs each of your four answers against a profile for thirteen common household pests, scoring matches against location, size, body type, and behavior. The result is the highest-scoring match rather than a strict decision tree — which means even when one answer is ambiguous, you usually still land on the right pest.
It covers: ants, cockroaches, mice, rats, termites, bed bugs, mosquitoes, wasps and hornets, spiders, fleas, ticks, flies, and silverfish. If you're seeing something that doesn't fit any of these — beetles in stored food, occasional invaders like earwigs, or anything outdoors that flies and stings but doesn't look like a wasp — the identifier will still give a best guess, but you should also browse the full pest guides directly.
Tips for a better result
- Look at the pest, not your memory of it. If you can, take a photo of one before it disappears.
- Note where you saw it first. Many pests have a strong location preference (German roaches almost always start in kitchens; bed bugs almost always near sleeping areas).
- Pay attention to behavior. Trail-following, scattering when light hits them, daytime appearance, and biting versus just being present each tell us something different.
- Count legs. Six = insect; eight = arachnid (spider or tick); four with fur = mammal. Sounds obvious, but in the moment it's easy to miss.