Bug Guides
Bug guides
How to tell what is crawling around, whether it is safe, and what to do next. Written by Peeka at the front desk and checked against the data.
Peeka, front desk
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SpeciesGuideWater bug or cockroach? How to tell them apart, why roaches get called water bugs, and what each one means for the houseMost "water bugs" found indoors are cockroaches, usually the Oriental or the American. How to tell them from a true giant water bug, why the nickname stuck, and what each one says about the house.Nov 1, 2026 · 7 min read
SpeciesGuideRed and black bugs: firebug, boxelder bug or milkweed bug, why they gather in crowds, and whether they are harmfulHow to tell the common red and black bugs apart in one look, why they cluster on walls and plants in their hundreds, what each one eats, and how to move them on without the smell or the stains.Oct 27, 2026 · 7 min read
SpeciesGuideHummingbird moth: is it really a moth, where they come from, and what else hovers like oneThe hummingbird hawk-moth and its North American cousin, the hummingbird clearwing: how to tell them from hover flies and bees, when they fly, where they come from, and whether they are a worry (they are not).Oct 26, 2026 · 6 min read
GuideCluster flies: the slow flies on autumn and winter windows, why they come back every year, and how to tell them from house fliesWhy sluggish grey flies gather in the loft and on upstairs windows from autumn to spring, why the same house gets them every year, how to tell them from house flies, and what actually helps.Oct 20, 2026 · 7 min read
GuideInsect eggs on leaves, walls and windows: what they look like, whose they are, and which ones to leave aloneHow to read a cluster of tiny eggs under a leaf, a grey smear on a tree or fence, a foamy lump on a twig or a brown capsule in a cupboard: whose eggs they usually are, and which ones are worth keeping.Oct 16, 2026 · 7 min readSpeciesGuideStink bugs in the house: where they are all coming from, how to get them out without the smell, and whether they will breed indoorsWhy brown marmorated stink bugs crowd onto walls and into houses every autumn, how to tell them from the look-alikes, how to remove them without setting off the smell, and what actually keeps them out next year.Oct 16, 2026 · 7 min read
GuideWhat are insects? Their characteristics, how many species there are, how they are classified, and what they do for usThe short, checkable answers to the questions people ask about insects: what makes something an insect, how many kinds there are, where they sit in the tree of life, and why we would be in trouble without them.Oct 16, 2026 · 7 min read
SpeciesGuideTiny red bugs: clover mites, velvet mites, chiggers and the others, and which ones biteThe little red things on the window sill, the garden path and the long grass. How to tell clover mites, red velvet mites, chiggers, spider mites and red insect nymphs apart, and which of them bite or sting.Oct 13, 2026 · 6 min read
GuideBugs in the bathroom: 8 usual suspects and what each one is telling you about the roomSilverfish, drain flies, springtails, house centipedes and four more. How to recognise the bugs that turn up in bathrooms, and what each one says about damp, drains and gaps.Oct 9, 2026 · 6 min read
GuideBugs in the kitchen: what they are, what they are after, and the fix for eachFruit flies, pantry moths, flour beetles, ants, cockroaches and the rest. How to recognise the bugs that turn up in kitchens, what food or water each one is following, and how to remove the source.Oct 9, 2026 · 6 min read
GuideBugs that come into the house in autumn: ladybirds, stink bugs, boxelder bugs and cluster fliesWhy a sunny wall fills with insects in October, how to tell the four usual autumn guests apart, and how to get them out without crushing them or reaching for a spray.Sep 26, 2026 · 7 min read
SpeciesGuideMonarch migration: where they are this month, how to see it, and how to helpLate September is the middle of the monarch's journey south. Where the butterflies are now, how to spot a roost or a passing stream of them, how to tell a monarch from its look-alikes, and what a garden can do that actually matters.Sep 22, 2026 · 6 min read
SpeciesGuideFlying ants or termites? How to tell in one look, and what each one means for the houseA crowd of winged insects at the window in one look: waist, wings and antennae tell ants and termites apart, and each swarm means something different for the building.Sep 18, 2026 · 6 min read
GuideAre spiders insects? No, and here is how to tell in three secondsSpiders are arachnids, not insects. Count the legs, count the body parts, look for antennae. The same test sorts out scorpions, ticks, mites, harvestmen, centipedes and woodlice, and explains why 'bug' means something different to a scientist.Sep 15, 2026 · 5 min read
GuideSmall black bugs in the house: 10 usual suspects and how to tell them apartTiny black insects on the windowsill, in the kitchen, on the carpet or in the bathroom. What they most likely are, sorted by where you found them and whether they fly, jump, crawl or run.Sep 15, 2026 · 7 min read
GuideEarly signs of bed bugs: how to check a bed in five minutes, and what to do if you find themThe five physical signs of bed bugs (the insects, shed skins, eggs, dark spots, blood marks), exactly where to look with a torch and a card, how to check a hotel room, and the first three moves if you find them. No bite diagnosis: skin cannot tell you, the bed can.Sep 15, 2026 · 7 min read
GuideFlying insects in the house: how to tell them apart in under a minuteTiny flies over the fruit, moths at the lamp, something buzzing at the window. A field guide to the flying insects that end up indoors, sorted by size, with the two you should actually act on.Sep 15, 2026 · 7 min read
GuideCommon house insects: how to tell what is living in your home, room by roomThe insects and spiders people actually find indoors, sorted by where you saw it. What each one looks like, what it means, and the short list that deserves action.Sep 15, 2026 · 8 min read
GuideInsect life cycles: complete metamorphosis, incomplete metamorphosis, and the ones with noneThe three ways insects and their relatives grow up: four stages (egg, larva, pupa, adult), three stages (egg, nymph, adult), or just moulting bigger. Which groups do which, why it matters for what you find in the garden, and 171 species sorted by type.Sep 15, 2026 · 7 min readGuideLovebugs: what they are, why they fly stuck together, how long they live, and how to get them off your carEvery September and May the Gulf Coast fills with black flies joined in pairs. What a lovebug actually is, why they are attached, whether they bite (no), how long the swarm lasts, and the one thing worth doing about them.Sep 15, 2026 · 6 min readSpeciesGuideSilverfish: identification, why they are in your home, and whether they matterThe silvery, wriggling insect in the bath or the bookcase. How to recognise a silverfish, what it eats, why it likes your bathroom, whether it can hurt you (no), and what actually reduces them.Sep 15, 2026 · 6 min read
GuideTypes of insects: the major orders explained, with one example of each you can actually findBeetles, butterflies and moths, bees and wasps, flies, true bugs, grasshoppers, dragonflies, mantises and the rest: how the main groups of insects differ, how to tell them apart at a glance, and which common species belong to each.Sep 15, 2026 · 8 min readGuideWhat's this bug? Every good way to find out, ranked by how sure you need to beApps, communities and experts for identifying an insect or spider from a photo, including the ones that are not ours. What each is good at, what it costs, and when to stop trusting an app and ask a person.Sep 15, 2026 · 7 min read
GuideWhite bugs: the small white insects people find, and what each one meansTiny white insects on a plant, in the bathroom, in a book or in the flour. Nine likely suspects, how to tell them apart by where you found them and how they move, and which ones are worth doing something about.Sep 15, 2026 · 6 min read
EngineeringDataWhat Bug Brief counts, and what it refuses to claimBug Brief turns the map into a monthly report built on iNaturalist observations. Here is exactly what the numbers mean, where they come from, and the three things we decided not to show.Sep 8, 2026 · 6 min read
SpeciesGuideSeven-spot Ladybird: the aphid colony's worst nightmareBright red, seven black spots, and a lifetime appetite for aphids. How to spot card #001 and why every garden wants one.Jul 12, 2026 · 3 min read