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FULLSCOPE PEST CONTROL · NORTH HOUSTON
North Houston Pest Library
Pests in North Houston Homes and Yards
Painful stings
Red imported fire ant
Solenopsis invicta
Size
1/16–1/4 in, mixed sizes
Active
Most of the year; mounds after rain
Spot it: Reddish-brown ants in a mix of sizes. Disturb a mound, and dozens pour out, climb grass stems fast, and sting again and again.
Signs: Mounds of fluffy, worked soil with no opening on top, most noticeable a few days after heavy rain. Stings burn, then form a white pustule.
Shorts electrics
Tawny crazy ant
Nylanderia fulva
Size
About 1/8 in
Active
Peaks July to November
Spot it: Small reddish-brown ants, all one size, running in fast, jerky zigzags and turning up by the thousands. First found around Houston in 2002.
Signs: No mounds. Masses under mulch, stones and debris, in crawl spaces, and packed into AC units, outlets and switch boxes, where they cause shorts. They bite but don’t sting.
Wood damage
Carpenter ant
Camponotus species
Size
1/4–1/2 in
Active
Swarms late winter to spring
Spot it: Large black, brown, or black-and-red-orange ants, out mostly at night. They bite but don’t sting. Winged ones can show up indoors by the hundred in late winter and spring.
Signs: Small piles of sawdust-like frass mixed with insect parts, below a hole in door or window frames, hollow walls or damp wood. They tunnel into wood but don’t eat it.
Nuisance
Odorous house ant
Tapinoma sessile
Size
About 1/8 in
Active
Spring through fall
Spot it: Small brown ants, all one size, trailing toward sweets. Crush one and it gives off a strong, odd smell, often compared to rotten coconut or licorice.
Signs: Trails along counters, sinks, and window frames. Nests outdoors under mulch, stones, and logs, and indoors in brick and wall voids.
Spreads germs
American cockroach
Periplaneta americana
Size
1 1/2–2 in
Active
Year-round, most in warm months
Spot it: The biggest roach in Texas: reddish-brown, with a pale tan-to-yellow band around the shield behind the head. Both sexes fly. Locals call it a palmetto bug or water bug.
Signs: Lives in sewers, manholes, mulch, and woodpiles and comes in through floor drains, mostly at night. Common in restaurants and other commercial buildings.
Spreads germs
Smokybrown cockroach
Periplaneta fuliginosa
Size
1 1/4–1 1/2 in
Active
Warm, humid weather
Spot it: Shiny dark brown to black all over, with no markings on the shield behind the head. Its wings reach past the tip of its body.
Signs: Needs high humidity. Lives in mulch, palm fronds, tree holes, soffits, and attic eaves, and gets in at the roofline. Indoors, it turns up in attics and near fireplaces, often after a roof leak.
Spreads germs
Allergies
German cockroach
Blattella germanica
Size
1/2–5/8 in
Active
Year-round indoors
Spot it: Small, light-brown roach with two dark stripes on the shield behind the head. In Texas, it lives only indoors, and it doesn’t fly.
Signs: Pepper-like droppings in cabinet hinges, under sinks, and behind appliances. Females carry a bean-shaped egg case that hatches 30 to 40 young.
Venomous bite
Brown recluse
Loxosceles reclusa
Leg span
Quarter to half-dollar
Active
Year-round; hunts at night
Spot it: Tan to gray, with a dark violin shape on the front of the body, its neck pointing back. Six eyes in pairs and slender legs with no spines.
Signs: Hides in clutter: boxes, closets, garages, crawl spaces, attics, and woodpiles. A bite may not show for days and can ulcerate, so see a doctor if one blisters or darkens.
Venomous bite
Southern black widow
Latrodectus mactans
Size
Female about 1 1/2 in with legs
Active
Most of the year
Spot it: Shiny black female with a round abdomen and a red hourglass underneath, sometimes broken in two. Males and young are smaller, with red, orange, and white marks.
Signs: Loose, tangled webs in sheltered spots: woodpiles, shrubs, rainspouts, garages, unused BBQ pits and meter boxes. Bites can cause intense pain and cramps within hours; get medical care.
Venomous bite
Brown widow
Latrodectus geometricus
Egg sac
Round, spiky, about 3/8 in
Active
Most of the year
Spot it: Tan to dark brown, often with white stripes, and an orange hourglass underneath. Dark ones pass for black widows but have duller, brownish bodies.
Signs: Tangled webs anchored to structures, with round egg sacs covered in little silk spikes. Bites are rare and usually milder than a black widow’s, but get care if symptoms spread.
Mostly harmless
Wolf spider
Family Lycosidae
Size
1/2–3 in
Active
After dark, most of the year
Spot it: Hairy brown-gray spider with stripes, often mistaken for a brown recluse. Look for two big forward-facing eyes above a row of four small ones. Hunts without a web.
Signs: Runs across floors at night and slips in under doors from lawns and fields. Not dangerous, though a bite can hurt and swell. Lots inside can mean other insects are getting in too.
Painful sting
Striped bark scorpion
Centruroides vittatus
Size
2–2 1/2 in
Active
At night; indoors in hot weather
Spot it: Yellowish tan with two broad dark stripes down the back and a dark triangle on the head. It’s the only scorpion found in eastern Texas.
Signs: Climbs walls and trees and often lives in attics, moving into living areas in hot weather. Hides under boards, debris, and firewood by day. Stings hurt; get care for breathing trouble.
Wood damage
Eastern subterranean termite
Reticulitermes flavipes
Size
Swarmers 1/4–3/8 in
Active
Swarms March to April, by day
Spot it: Swarmers are blackish brown with four equal, pale to smoky wings and a thick waist, and they fly by day. Workers are cream-colored and about 1/8 in.
Signs: Mud tubes on slab edges, piers and foundation walls; shed wings on windowsills; wood that sounds dull when tapped, with mud-lined galleries along the grain.
Wood damage
Formosan subterranean termite
Coptotermes formosanus
Size
Swarmers 1/2–5/8 in
Active
Swarms late May to June, at night
Spot it: Swarmers are yellowish brown with hairy wings and fly to lights after dark. Soldiers have egg-shaped heads and ooze a white fluid when disturbed.
Signs: Swarmers at porch lights and windowsills on late-spring nights. Colonies can top a million and build nests of chewed wood and soil inside walls. First found in Texas near the Houston Ship Channel.
Wood damage
Drywood termite
Incisitermes snyderi and others
Size
Swarmers about 7/16 in
Active
Swarms at night, toward lights
Spot it: Lives entirely inside dry wood above ground, with no mud tubes and no contact with soil. Swarmers are light yellow with clear wings.
Signs: Small piles of hard, ridged pellets about 1/32 in long, the color of the wood, below eaves, siding, and wood shingles. Most common along the Gulf Coast.
Disease risk
Asian tiger mosquito
Aedes albopictus
Size
Under 1/4 in
Active
Bites by day
Spot it: Black with silver-white bands on its legs and a single white stripe down the middle of its back. Bites in the daytime, mostly early morning and late afternoon.
Signs: Breeds in small containers: buckets, tires, plant saucers, pet dishes, birdbaths, and clogged gutters, and rarely bites far from them. First found in the U.S. in Houston in 1985.
Disease risk
Southern house mosquito
Culex quinquefasciatus
Size
About 5/32 in
Active
Bites at night
Spot it: Plain brown, medium-sized mosquito that bites quietly through the night. It’s the main carrier of West Nile virus in the Houston area.
Signs: Breeds in dirty standing water, like storm-drain catch basins, ditches and wastewater, laying floating rafts of 100 or more eggs. Numbers climb in hot, dry spells.
Itchy bites
Cat flea
Ctenocephalides felis
Size
About 1/8 in
Active
Year-round on pets
Spot it: Tiny, flat, wingless, brownish-black jumper. It causes most flea problems in Texas, on dogs as well as cats.
Signs: Reddish-black “flea dirt” in pet fur and bedding, and small, red, itchy bites on ankles and lower legs. Larvae grow under furniture, in pet bedding, and in moist, shady spots outdoors.
Disease risk
Lone star tick
Amblyomma americanum
Size
About 1/8 in unfed
Active
Warm months
Spot it: Reddish-brown tick; the adult female has a single white spot in the middle of her back. One of the most common ticks outdoors in Texas.
Signs: Picked up at wood edges, tall grass, and brush. Can transmit ehrlichiosis and is linked to alpha-gal syndrome, an allergy to red meat and other mammalian products. Save any tick you remove, and see a doctor for fever or rash.
Bites dogs
Brown dog tick
Rhipicephalus sanguineus
Size
About 1/8 in unfed
Active
Year-round indoors
Spot it: Plain reddish-brown tick with no markings on its back. Feeds mainly on dogs; a fed female swells to the size of a raisin.
Signs: Ticks crawling up walls and curtains or on baseboards, furniture, and dog bedding. Unlike most ticks, it can complete its whole life cycle indoors.
Itchy bites
Bed bug
Cimex lectularius
Size
3/16–1/4 in
Active
Year-round, at night
Spot it: Flat, oval, and brown, about the size of an apple seed. After feeding, it swells and turns reddish-brown. Young ones are whitish yellow and hard to see.
Signs: Rusty stains and dark, marker-like spots on sheets and mattress seams, pinhead-sized pearl-white eggs, and shed skins. They hide in any crack a credit card fits.
Nuisance
Field cricket
Gryllus species
Size
About 1 in
Active
Swarms August and September
Spot it: Dark brown to black cricket that floods bright lights at night in late summer, often after rain breaks a dry spell. Males chirp through the night.
Signs: Masses at storefronts and porch lights, then piles of dead crickets by doors that smell bad. They don’t breed indoors but can soil or chew stained clothing.
Nuisance
Earwig
Order Dermaptera
Size
1/4–1 1/4 in
Active
At night; indoors in heat and drought
Spot it: Flat, brown to black insect with a pair of hard pincers on its tail end. Feeds at night and hides in cool, damp spots by day.
Signs: Slips indoors through tiny cracks during long heat and drought, and hides in deep, damp mulch by the foundation. It looks scary but rarely harms people and doesn’t breed indoors.
Spreads germs
Chews wiring
Roof rat
Rattus rattus
Size
12–18 in with tail
Active
Year-round, at night
Spot it: Sleek, gray-black rat with a pale belly and a tail longer than its body. A climber that travels along wires, fences, and tree limbs.
Signs: Scurrying in attics and walls at night, pointed droppings up to 1/2 in, and greasy rub marks. Nests in attics, soffits and wall voids, and squeezes through gaps 1/2 in wide.
Spreads germs
Chews wiring
Norway rat
Rattus norvegicus
Size
11–19 in with tail
Active
Year-round, at night
Spot it: Heavy, brown-gray rat with a white belly, blunt nose, and a tail shorter than its body. Lives at ground level and digs.
Signs: Burrows under foundations, slabs, sheds and woodpiles; capsule-shaped droppings about 3/4 in; gnawed wood and greasy smears along walls.
Spreads germs
House mouse
Mus musculus
Size
5–8 in with tail
Active
Year-round
Spot it: Small, grayish-brown mouse with a tail about as long as its body. It fits through a 1/4-in gap, about the width of a pencil.
Signs: Rod-shaped droppings about 1/8 in long in drawers, pantries, and under sinks; chewed packages; small, neat nests in drawers and furniture; squeaking or scratching in walls.
Chews wiring
Fox and gray squirrels
Sciurus niger and S. carolinensis
Size
16–27 in with tail
Active
Daytime; two litters a year
Spot it: Fox squirrels are gray-brown with an orange belly; gray squirrels are grayer and smaller. Running overhead in daylight usually means squirrels; at night, rats.
Signs: Gnawing and running in the attic by day, chewed vents and ridge vents, torn insulation, and gnawed wiring. They get in where tree limbs overhang the roof.
Roundworm risk
Roof damage
Raccoon
Procyon lotor
Size
26–38 in, 10–30 lb
Active
At night; young born Apr-May
Spot it: Tiny black bug with white wings, each marked with a black triangle. Young ones are yellow to pinkish red with a pale band across the body.
Signs: Spreading, irregular yellow-to-brown patches in St. Augustine grass, starting in full sun and along driveways and sidewalks during hot, dry weather.
Kills grass
Southern chinch bug
Blissus insularis
Size
1/6–1/5 in
Active
Spring to fall, worst when hot and dry
Spot it: Tiny black bug with white wings, each marked with a black triangle. Young ones are yellow to pinkish red with a pale band across the body.
Signs: Spreading, irregular yellow-to-brown patches in St. Augustine grass, starting in full sun and along drives and sidewalks during hot, dry weather.
Kills grass
White Grub
Phyllophaga and Cyclocephala species
Size
Grubs 1/2–1 in
Active
Damage June to October
Spot it: Creamy white, C-shaped larvae with three pairs of legs, curled in the soil under the turf. The adults are brown June beetles and masked chafers that fly at night.
Signs: Brown, weak patches from June to October, and turf that pulls up or rolls back like a carpet. More than five grubs per square foot justifies treatment.
Questions we hear
Not sure what you found? Call (832) 346-7269. Call before noon for same-day service.
What pests are most common in North Houston homes?
Is a palmetto bug a cockroach?
How do I tell termites from flying ants?
Which of these can hurt my family or pets?
Fire ant stings and brown recluse and black widow bites can require medical care, and striped bark scorpion stings hurt. Lone star ticks can carry ehrlichiosis, brown dog ticks feed on dogs, and southern house mosquitoes carry West Nile virus. Call 911 for trouble breathing or swelling of the face or throat. Poison Help, 1-800-222-1222, can advise on other bites and stings.
Why are there more mosquitoes after it rains?
Found One Of These At Home?
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Serving Atascocita, Cleveland, Coldspring, Conroe, Huffman, Humble, Kingwood, Livingston, Magnolia, Montgomery, New Caney, Porter, Splendora, Spring, The Woodlands and Willis.