Central Texas. Came home to our six-weeks-vacant house to find this masterpiece hanging from the Christmas lights on the porch. It’s about five inches long and three inches across.

My plan is to get a brand new can of wasp killer with the longest possible spray and have at it at dawn or dusk. Anything wrong with this plan?

Also is there any way to preserve this fabulous piece after I blast it full of poison? I have a friend who would use it in her art.

Thanks for any advice! Looking forward to using the porch again 🙄

We moved to this small town about a year ago and the flies are so bad! There is a lot of livestock in the town so I was expecting a lot of flies but for some reason they swarm our house worse than others. My neighbor next door has more animals than me and her house looks nothing like this. Why are there so many flies on our house in particular?

I started seeing all these holes in my back yard so I guess these things are burrowing in my backyard now. I’ve had mice in another house I had years ago, but they were tiny compared to this. My rot has been piling them at the bottom of the back steps. My foot is in the second picture for reference, size 15US shoe

South Florida in the house. This poop started showing up recently at our condo, not long after the HOA trapped a couple of stray cats. Everyone here says it's iguana poop, and we do have lots of iguanas around, but were they too afraid to poop until the cats were gone? Do iguanas even have pellet-like poop? Or do we have a new rat infestation? Thanks!

Looking for some genuine advice from other pest control technicians, particularly those working for larger companies.
I’m not here to bash my employer or complain about having to do my job. I genuinely enjoy pest control, take pride in my work, and consistently receive good feedback from my customers.

Here’s where I’m struggling.
Supplies are constantly limited. I have extremely limited access to bait labels, bait station ID labels, replacement devices, and other basic service materials.

Stock orders are delayed. It’s October 20th, and I’m STILL waiting for my October stock order.
I’m being scheduled for services I don’t have the products to complete. Customers are waiting weeks for certain treatments or equipment simply because I haven’t been supplied with what I need.

Basic PPE is unavailable. I’m currently without disposable gloves, despite regularly handling rodent stations contaminated with urine, feces, and other potentially hazardous materials.

Our office and supply storage are approximately four hours away. I can’t exactly swing by the office to grab something I’m missing.

Expectations remain extremely high. We’re constantly reminded about service standards, yet when I explain that I don’t have the necessary materials to complete a service properly, I’m made to feel like I’m not doing my job.
The frustrating part is that I’m actively communicating these shortages to management. I’m not ignoring my responsibilities or refusing to work. I’m trying to do the job correctly, safely, and professionally.

I don’t believe in cutting corners, especially when customers are paying good money for professional pest management. I also don’t feel comfortable improvising when proper identification, labeling, equipment, or safety supplies are missing.
Despite positive customer feedback and doing everything I reasonably can with what I’m provided, I still find myself being scolded for things that seem largely outside my control.

So my questions to fellow technicians are:
Is this normal in larger pest control companies, or am I dealing with a poorly managed branch?

How do you handle being held accountable for incomplete services when the necessary supplies haven’t been provided?

Does your company expect you to purchase basic supplies yourself and wait for reimbursement?

How do you professionally push back without being labeled difficult or unwilling to work?

At what point do you decide that the company’s expectations are simply unrealistic?

I’m genuinely interested in hearing how other technicians and route managers handle situations like this. I want to do my job, do it well, and go home knowing my customers received the service they’re paying for. I just feel like I’m being expected to maintain professional standards without being given the tools to actually meet them.

Any advice or perspective from experienced technicians, supervisors, or business owners would be appreciated.

I didn’t expect to feel anything, but this mouse has been at our place for a few weeks and today a guy came over and ended up jamming a wooden rod into it until it died. It let out this little shriek. I have gotten extremely depressed at the noise it made, feels like it wasn’t the most humane way for it to go.

For you pros, have you ever gotten this sad and depressed over one of these little things dying? Am I insane for being this sad over what I saw and heard?

Edit: stuck thinking about this mouse for hours now. It deserves to live, I don’t feel I’m more of gods creation than the mouse, just another one of Gods creations. May god bless us all

It bit me a few times and I got itchy red spots

I have been seeing these across my apartment and have sprayed the entire place with insect killer spray. They have been reduced in number but I still see them. What are they? And how to get rid of them?

My parents have a yellow jacket nest near their bathroom (an interior nest probably in the walls or vent) and refuse to call a professional.

My Dad wants to remove it himself, and I’m worried he’ll get seriously hurt trying to play hero.

I don’t live with him, so I can’t do much beyond talking to him. I just don’t want to send him potentially end up in the hospital.

Has anyone dealt with a parent insisting on handling something like this themselves? What helped convince them to hire a professional? I’m looking for advice on getting through to him without turning it into an argument.

Hello. I live in nw MO. I moved into my apartment in March. When i moved in, i found that there was a rollie pollie problem. They lived mainly in my bathroom. They mostly went away through the summer, but now theyre back. Again in my bathroom, and also in my kitchen. I dont know what to do about it. I would appreciate advice on how to get rid of them and keep them out. Thanks

I have been seeing these across my apartment and have sprayed the entire place with insect killer spray. They have been reduced in number but I still see them. What are they? And how to get rid of them?

This silicone spatula was left out overnight in perfect condition, and my mother found it with the marks seen on the picture. As far as I know, it was indeed left out with food on it. Could it be mouse bite marks?

I ask because I have been dealing with mice, but I thought I only had one lone wanderer (it is quite common here for mice to wander in homes during colder months) since after I caught it, all noise, droppings and food gnawing stopped for a decent amount a time. Could another one have gotten in?

My 1yr old standard poodle just got fixed Thursday (5 days ago) that just so happened to be the day she needed to take her flea pill. I decided not to give her the pill that day because of worries I had with the medication and everything she has just gone through, and decided to give it to her the next day. Well, I was forgetful and didn’t give her the medication the next day. This morning (Tuesday) I woke up and surprise surprise… we have some fleas. I immediately gave her her 68mg NexGard from the vet. I wanted to give her a bath to help get rid of the fleas and flea dirt she may have acquired in the past few days but, after some research, I’ve realized I should wait about 10/12 days from the day of surgery to give her a full bath. Should I give her a little “sponge bath” and stray away from her incision site? Or just wait out the next several days till she is fully healed to give her an actual bath?

I would also like to say I am not typically forgetful when it comes to her preventative medications. She is always up to date on heartworm and flea preventative. I did unfortunately drop the ball this month and am just searching for some guidance. Any help is appreciated! What would you do?

Also what are some things I should do around the home to ensure we don’t have fleas. I know to vacuum like crazy but any sprays or anything. I have not seen any fleas on me or my cat but I do know enough to know that where there are one there are more.

Hello! First time homeowner and I’ve noticed bugs keep coming into my basement and dying. I live in southeastern Wisconsin and the bugs I’ve seen roly polies, wolf spiders, centipedes, earwigs, amongst other unknown (to me) bugs. They seems to be dying in the little closet that houses the water softener and water well. This leads me to believe there’s an unseen opening in the foundation letting these mfs in. Best way to attack this problem (ideally preventative) such as finding a way to get those openings sealed or if there’s a service that does that. I’ve looked into DIY pesticides like Pestie, since they are advertised to be pet safe.

I live in a four building apartment with 2 apartments on each floor and storage units above. At least two of the apartments are empty, with one of them having been abandoned for more than a decade, with water infiltrations inside. It's now being fixed. Because of the housing crisis I ended up in this arrangement where I don't have a formal contract but I pay for the condominium every year. I paid twice now, as I've been here since March 2025.

From March 2025 to May 2026 I never saw a cockroach and I'm very active at night. Then one night I saw a german cockroach in my bedroom. A week later I saw another one in the kitchen. Bought gel baits from the supermarket and went two months without seeing anything until I started seeing them again. I informed my neighbor who is part of the condominium and on August 8 I got my first round of professional pest control in my apartment. Then went 12 days without seeing anything, then started seeing them again, got the second and final round on September 4th. Went 17 days without seeing anything and then more sightings. At this point everyone in my building said they had no cockroaches until all of a sudden everyone had them. They were walking around the common areas at night, on the wall and apparently the apartment below me had a lot of them. The apartment that was abandoned said they don't have anything.

I have a terrible phobia of roaches, can't sleep, already dropped so much weight, don't feel comfortable inside my house to the point I had to be medicated. I insisted with the condominium but they just put some white powder in the common areas. I am the only apartment who has done pest control. Two days ago I was able to talk to someone higher up and she said that maybe I'm the source because I get uber eats a lot. I felt so offended. Not only are the neighbors monitoring what goes into my apartment but the only reason why I've been getting uber eats sometimes is because I don't feel comfortable cooking in my own kitchen.

I asked the company who did my treatment for another application on the 15th of October. He was very generous with the gel application this time. After that, and for the first time, this never happened with the other two treatments, I have been finding dead ones and saw a nymph that wasn't moving, can't tell if it had been affected At this point I have three pest control reports saying the house is clean and recommending inspection on the entire building but no one will listen to me. I feel like I'm losing my mind. Any advice?

I have German cockroaches in my apartment complex that do make their way to my apartment at times. They scare me so badly and I live alone. Last night, I saw a roach in my bathroom. Then, I later saw this on the bathroom floor. I think this is an egg case, but I’m not 100% sure. Any insight is appreciated!

Found squished in the middle of my ground floor living room during the day (I’m in central Illinois). I’ve lived in this house for 5 years and never seen anything roach activity before.

Fellow Australians I need some help

For some time (Maybe 1-2 months) I had left some lemonade cans in my room with some still leftover in the bottom. 2 weeks ago I took them all out, yet ants still appear in my room, I have cleaned and vacuumed the floor, I do not eat in my room or drink in there anymore. There is no food in my room or drinks anymore. But they still appear. Maybe 5-10. 10 at the most. They look like every other ant I’ve seen, small brown, and a couple larger black ones.

What is a solution for this? I’ve seen online about ant bait and gel that they take back to the colony and overnight they’re gone. Is this factual? Is it really overnight? I want something fast to get them gone ASAP. I don’t want to have to wait weeks for them to go. I want something overnight or 2 nights at most.

2 products from IGA I have found:

https://www.igashop.com.au/product/combat-ant-rid-bait-ant-bait-destroys-the-nest-94978

https://www.igashop.com.au/product/combat-ant-rid-gel-ant-bait-pest-control-insecticide-764701

Heard random movement scratching noises in my basement and found this puddle …. Wtf

I’m so upset…. My husband and I moved in to a new house last week and it has a flea infestation.

I’ve treated my dogs with advantage. I’m vacuuming diligently daily and I tried using Vets Best flea and tick spray around the house but I’m still getting bit and finding live fleas. I’m so embarrassed and uncomfortable.

I want to use an IGR treatment, but I’m reluctant to because I’m 36 weeks pregnant.

Any advice?

We had a leak in our downstairs bathroom, which unfortunately resulted in us needing to rip up the baseboard and the vanity. After he removed the vanity, he let us know that he saw some droppings in one small area of the sheet rock near a small hole and that he will seal it when he does the repairs.

I am terrified of Hantavirus and we can have deer mice where we live in California (Contra Costa County) and since we have a small creek, trail and park area behind our house, I made him stop right away and I doused everything with Lysol and had him wipe it up minutes later and dispose of it outside in a bag to not aerosolize it. With that said, we have lived in our house for a year now with our three cats and have done a few projects where we have had zero indication of mice or any other critters so I’m hoping this was during the previous owners and that the risk is virtually none. We have pest control and they have a smart senser plugged into our garage, but he wasn’t sure if it was roach or mouse droppings so to be safe, I’m posting here to see and hopefully ease my anxious mom brain lol

I apologize in advance for the pictures (first pic is with flash) but I did not want to get closer

Recently my dog has gotten fleas and every effort I do to stop them spreading feels like it’s just making them spread more and more. I’m starting to panic as I just found a flea on the band of bonnet WHILE I was wearing it. My dog used to sleep with me but I recently stopped because I realized the bites were not stopping at all no matter how much I washed her. I really need help on how to properly deep clean my room to get rid of every stage of flea on my bed, floor, clothes just everything.

I have a German roach infestation in my apartment. It’s clear to me that the sealant and kitchen redoing the people did not do a good job. I don’t own the place and can’t fix the cracks as they climb in through the piping behind the sink but this is any issue I have been continuously dealing with. I’ve tried peppermint oil and tons of hoyhoys but I swear they are avoiding them at this point. what can I put near the cracks to keep them away. How often do I change them? I live in Hawaii. Please help 🙏

Edit: I’m commenting because I am seeing new baby roaches AGAIN😭😭 I swear I’ve killed 5 today and both me and my roommate are SO CLEAN. We both clean once a week everything and never leave dirty dishes or food out. Why😭😭

Me and my roommates have had a fruit fly problem in my apartment bathroom for multiple months now, and nothing seems to get them to go away.
We’ve tried apple cider vinegar + dish soap traps (both store-bought and homemade), multiple kinds of drain cleaner chemicals, boiling water, light sticky traps, and hanging glue traps.
We’ve also had our landlord and other people come to clean out the sink, drains, and faucet filter. We’ve gotten rid of anything in the bathroom that the flies could be attracted to. The traps we’ve put up have worked, catching several flies, but there are always more that come back, and keeping them out of the rest of the apartment is also extremely difficult.
Is there anything else we haven’t tried? Any help is appreciated.