Earwigs are unsightly and can be serious garden pests. They have amber bodies with yellow legs and sometimes head indoors after rains. Often called pincher bugs, they primarily eat decaying matter and do not pinch.
Earwigs
House Crickets
Yellowish-brown and about one-inch long, house crickets are heard more often than they are seen. They create a distinctive chirping sound, especially in the dark. They are happy to be outside but will stray toward warm interiors. They can chew just about anything from carpets to clothing, and can bite if captured.
Silverfish
These pests like to eat paper, glue, starch, and textiles. Silverfish will feed on the wallpaper and are often found in books or cardboard packaging. They are nocturnal and flee from the light. They are silvery-white, cone-shaped, and ¾- to ½-inch long.
Millipedes
Their bodies are dark and tubular but vary in color and size from a half-inch to 12-inches in more exotic locales. Millipedes have two legs per segment. They live in moist soils, usually covered by plants, rocks, or leaves, and eat decaying organic matter.
Sowbugs / Pillbugs
Sometimes called “roly-polies” or “potato-bugs,” they are dark segmented critters about ¾-inch long. They feed on decaying plant matter and live in damp areas. They prefer to be underneath the cover of leaves or rocks, but can also be found under boxes in damp, ground-level basements or storage rooms.
