See All Pest, Disease and Weed Identification

The potato leafhopper has been noted on more than 200 host plants, many of which are ornamental plants. However, this insect is best known as a field crop pest.

Pseudoscorpions are tiny arachnids with four pairs of legs and one pair of pedipalps (pincer-like claws). Pseudoscorpions are neither dangerous, nor destructive.

The rhododendron borer is a native pest of rhododendron, sometimes attacking mountain laurel and deciduous azaleas growing adjacent to infested host plants.

Rose-seed Megastigmus is a tiny seed-infesting wasp that is common in homes and establishments where dried flowers and potpourri containing rose hips are found.

The snailcase bagworm is a moth (family Psychidae) that was accidentally introduced into the United States from Europe in the 1940s.

Plant bugs are a large, diverse family of insects that feed by sucking sap from plants, especially parts with high rates of cell division like buds and flowers.

The cottony maple scale is one of the largest and most conspicuous soft scale insects that attack ornamental deciduous plants.

The drugstore beetle, Stegobium paniceum (Linnaeus), is a common insect in Pennsylvania that infests stored foods, seeds, and other materials.

The eastern spruce gall adelgid is a key pest of Norway spruce, Picea abies, in northeastern United States.

Eastern subterranean termites are present throughout Pennsylvania and often damage structural timbers in buildings.

The baldfaced hornet is not a 'true' hornet - it is an 'aerial yellowjacket,' one of 7 or 8 species in the genus Dolichovespula in North America

The honeylocust plant bug is a key pest of honeylocust. It is a particular concern with the thornless cultivars grown in nurseries and used in landscapes.

In much of Pennsylvania, the hemlock woolly adelgid has caused significant damage to eastern hemlock in ornamental plantings and the forest.

Colorado potato beetle (CPB) feeds exclusively on solanaceous crops and weeds, and can be a significant pest of potatoes, tomatoes and eggplant.

The black carpenter ant normally nests in logs, stumps, and hollow trees. However, the workers often invade homes in search of food.

In the autumn, cluster flies frequent the sunny sides of homes in search of protected over-wintering sites and may be found inside throughout the winter.

The cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis, is the primary flea found on cats and dogs. It will attack other animals and humans as well.

Four species of cockroach are common pests in Pennsylvania structures. These are the German, brown-banded, Oriental, and American cockroaches.

The birch leafminer is a key pest of gray birch and paper birch trees.

The oystershell scale is a common armored scale insect that causes injury to shade trees and shrubs, most often lilac, ash, dogwood, maple, poplar, and willow.

One of four cockroaches common in Pennsylvania structures, Oriental cockroaches are often called water bugs due to their preference for dark, damp, and cool areas.

The white pine weevil is considered the most destructive insect pest of eastern white pine in North America.

The spruce spider mite attacks spruce, arborvitae, juniper, hemlock, pine, Douglas-fir, and occasionally other conifers.

Powderpost beetles breed in dead and dried hardwoods. Their presence may be overlooked until they are discovered in stored lumber, rafters, joists, floors, and furniture.

Grass-carrying wasps construct nests from grass in tight areas, particularly in window tracks. They can be a minor nuisance but are easily ignored or removed if necessary.