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Insect Pests in the Home

Many different species of insects invade our homes and apartments. Some, such as Asian lady beetles and other occasional invaders, are just nuisances, but they can be quite bothersome when they occur in high numbers. Pests such as cockroaches and houseflies simply want to live with us and feed on our leftovers, but we do not appreciate their company. Others, like sawtoothed grain beetles and other stored product pests, eat our food before we can. Termites and other structural pests damage our homes, pests such as clothes moths and carpet beetles damage our clothes, and some insect pests, such as fleas and bed bugs eat us.

See publication 2443, Control Household Insect Pests, for information on the identification, management, and control of cockroaches, fleas, bed bugs, and many other household insects.  This publication also contains information on non-insecticidal methods of managing household insects and information on how to buy and apply insecticides inside the home.

More Publications and Information

Control of Argentine Ants and Odorous House Ants in the Home, Publication 2407
Bed Bugs, Bug-Wise Newsletter, No. 2, 2007
Large Roaches, Bug-Wise Newsletter, No. 8, 2007
Home-Invading Spiders, Bug-Wise Newsletter, No. 9, 2007
Ready-to-use Non-aerosol Insect Sprays for Indoor Insect Control, Bug-Wise Newsletter, No. 2, 2006
Prepare for the Lady Beetle Invasion, Bug-Wise Newsletter, No. 15, 2005
Moths that Infest Stored Foods, Bug-Wise Newsletter, No. 14, 2005
Drugstore Beetles and Cigarette Beetles, Bug-Wise Newsletter, No. 10, 2005
Carpenter Bees, Bug-Wise Newsletter, No. 4, 2005
Clothes Moths and Carpet Beetles, Bug-Wise Newsletter, No. 1, 2005
Indoor Flea Control, Bug-Wise Newsletter, No. 15, 2004

Contact

Dr. Blake Layton, Extension Entomology Specialist
Department of Entomology, Mississippi State University
Phone: (662) 325-2085
Email: blayton@entomology.msstate.edu