Simple Pest Control Identify a pest

Editorial Standards

Last updated October 13, 2026

Pest advice can affect your health, your home and your money. These are the rules we follow so you can trust what you read here.

What we cover

We write for homeowners and renters in the United States. Our guides help you identify a pest, understand why it showed up, take the low-risk steps you can do yourself and decide when to hire a licensed professional.

Where our information comes from

We build each guide from public, expert sources:

  • University cooperative extension programs and integrated pest management (IPM) programs
  • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
  • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  • The National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC)
  • State wildlife and agriculture agencies

Every guide lists its sources at the bottom of the page. We open and read each source before we cite it. If we cannot find a reliable source for a claim, we leave the claim out.

Rules we follow

  • Least-toxic first. We recommend identification, sanitation, repairs and exclusion before pesticides, in line with IPM.
  • The label is the law. We name active ingredients, not brands, and we never give mixing or dosing directions that replace a product label.
  • Humane and legal wildlife advice. We favor exclusion and habitat changes, never recommend poisons for wildlife, and point readers to state rules on trapping and relocation.
  • No invented numbers. We do not publish made-up statistics, success rates or prices. Pest control costs vary too much by place and situation to quote fairly.
  • No fake experience. We do not claim to have tested products or treated homes ourselves, and we do not publish testimonials or reviews.
  • No fear marketing. We describe health and property risks accurately and calmly.

Expert review

When a qualified person, such as an entomologist, extension educator or licensed applicator, reviews a guide, we show their name and credentials on that page. We only list real reviewers who have actually reviewed the page.

Updates and corrections

Pesticide registrations, product rules and agency guidance change, so every guide shows the date it was last updated. If you spot an error, please tell us. We correct confirmed errors and update the date on the page.

Independence

Any business relationship, such as a referral arrangement with a pest control network, is explained on our disclosures page. Partners do not review, approve or pay for specific guide content, and a referral arrangement never changes what a guide recommends, including recommending a do-it-yourself fix.

Historical addresses

A few pages use addresses from the site's earlier life, like /rabbit-control.htm, because other websites still link to them. The content at those addresses is new. See About us for the history.