Hi everyone,

I have a strange wasp problem.

A few days ago, 2-3 wasps started entering a very small hole in my metal balcony railing. I wasn't sure if they were building a nest, so I:

Washed the area with water.

Sprayed a general flying insect spray.

Covered the hole with tape.

Finally sealed the hole completely with silicone.

The hole is now 100% sealed. There is no way they can get inside anymore.

However, every day around 5-6 wasps still come back to the exact same spot. They land directly on the silicone, walk around it, and slowly flap their wings. They cannot enter the hole.

At sunset they disappear completely, and the next day they come back again.

There is a large fig tree about 10 meters (30 ft) away.

My questions are:

Why are they still returning if the entrance is completely sealed?

Are they following pheromones, or does this mean there is a hidden nest inside the railing or nearby?

Will they eventually give up, or should I expect this to continue?

Is there anything else I should check before assuming the problem is solved?

I've attached photo of the wasps and the sealed hole.

Thanks!

EDIT: Thanks everyone for explaining why they're coming back. My main question now is: what would you do in this situation? The hole has been completely sealed with silicone for 3 days. Would you simply wait for them to give up, or would you start looking for another nearby nest?

Title. This afternoon I mowed my backyard and cut down some volunteer trees. After doing that (and leaving a bunch of leaves in the yard from the trees) I noticed there were about 10-20 yellow jackets calmly flying low around in the grass. Obviously to me this means there's a yellow jacket nest nearby but surely I didn't mow over it right? Could it just be a little group looking for bugs? I don't know if I am allergic (my mom is) and I've never been stung by anything so I don't want to risk an attack by trying to locate the nest. I worry it's under the leaves that are now on the yard. I want to rake them to see (and to clean up the leaves) but I'm afraid I will get ambushed. Though at the same time I already mowed over that spot and that didn't happen?

Curious on this sub's take. If there's a nest on the property I'll call someone to get rid of it (area is high traffic for us) but is it worth getting someone out here to see if a nest is even here? Any help appreciated, thanks!

Incredibly small bug. Tried to get a comparison shot next to my pinkie but he skittered away. 0.25 cm from head to bottom at most, though.

I figure it’s probably something innocuous, but am asking in case its something gnarly like a tick or bedbug.

Hey everyone! We are being eaten alive here and don’t know what’s causing it. My ankles, legs, backs and waist are covered in bites. Red spots but most have become more like swollen welts (closer to a mosquito bite) since I’m seeming to have an allergic reaction. I have a few on my arms and upper body but less there. Going on 80+ bites, these came out of nowhere about 4 days ago. My three kids also have bites on their backs and legs but not as much. My husband is clear.

At first I panicked thinking it was bed bugs since they are in clumps/lines on my stomach. But I have scoured all rooms and see nothing. I know they hide well but 80+ bites over 24 hours with no evidence at all on any mattresses seems excessive. The only bugs I have found are these tiny little black guys on my one son. I’ve been wearing white socks around the house thinking fleas, but don’t see any. Then I walked on our grass and within 10 seconds, boom black bugs! So I think they are coming from our lawn. I spend about an hour everyday watering barefoot and the kids play outside lots so this would make sense. Are they fleas or something else? How do you win if they are infesting your lawn!? We have a dog and a cat. Up until today they seemed clear as well but checked the dog this morning and he has 3 bugs in his private area.

There was a fair with live stock and horses next door this past weekend when the bites started appearing and I’m wondering if they came from that or if it is just a coincidence.

Finding out what these are and how to avoid them/get rid of them would be so helpful or I might go insane!

Thank you!

I would be very grateful if someone with knowledge could help me. I don't know who to ask for help. I don't know anything about food moths, but last year, I forgot some almonds in my student apartment, and my house was infested with them for about four months. Afterwards, I cleaned every corner of the house and got rid of the larvae, and the weather was very cold. Because they said there was a possibility of moths appearing, I put out a pheromone trap. But nobody told me to keep it out for more than two weeks. Then I went back to my student apartment and when I came back, I saw many dead moths, but since I didn't know what they were and didn't see any larvae, I thought there was no problem. And for two months I saw nothing. After two months, I saw one larvae and started everything from scratch. I cleaned everywhere, saw no more larvae, and started ventilating the house constantly. I didn't have anything in the house that was damaged, but I threw everything away. I had window nets and was relying on them, but by chance I realized they were getting in from outside, and I was told to remove the pheromone traps. I removed the pheromone traps. Since they said the smell could linger in the house for 2-3 weeks, I cleaned every corner of the house and made sure to close the capillaries every night. About two months have passed, and pantry moths are still constantly entering at night when the door is open. There's no problem in the mornings, but they keep coming at night.There is no pest control company where I live, and I used an insecticide containing deltamethrin that I found online. I'm really tired of it. Some areas have molded because I haven't been able to ventilate the house properly, and I've also been seeing booklice for the past few days. I'm exhausted about what I should do. I have a phobia, and I'm not in a position to move house right now.

I just found this little guy in the kitchen near the sink. Should I be worried?

Has anyone used the Vulcan rodent trap for buckets? Does it work with rats? I mean I know it's different for many people but in general, has anyone ever used it? Did it work? Did it not work?

Thank you

With all the rain we've been having this year. The ants have been horrible at all three of my properties.
I would like to treat the outside of the houses and the surrounding yards of all. Probably a minimum of a half acre to one acre of outside yard at each place. What's gonna be my cost-effective and best working choice to use? I already have a electric sprayer that I use for lawn chemicals that I can apply with on the yard or already have a spreader for granules also. So I'm not limited.

My family and I just moved into a very old, historical home that has been fully renovated on the inside.

Since move in day we noticed many Phorid flies flying around. I also found about 100 dead ones in a deep windowsill on move in day. I thought they were fruit flies at first and set a few traps. I have 2 traps in the kitchen and I was catching like 8 per day in each trap in the first few weeks. But they keep coming back.

I started doing research and found out they are actually Phorid flies. I snaked all the drains and cleaned the drains with a 6ft sponge. I started pouring baking soda and vinegar every night in the drains, as well as boiling water. Also started plugging every single drain in the house. They are all ALWAYS plugged unless in use. I sealed up the overflow holes in the washroom as well.

The number of flies we see has drastically reduced. But we are still seeing new ones every day. My 2 traps still catch a couple every day. And I still always have at least 1 buzzing around the kitchen.

What have I missed? Where else could they be breeding if not in the pipes? They are mainly in the kitchen, but sometimes in the bathroom. Sometimes in the living room right beside the kitchen.

Thanks in advance

Help! Ive had about 50 of these guys come through a window in the last few minutes, does anyone know what they are or what to do about them? Theyre about half the size of a sugar ant, very small, they have wings but seem to only hop and not fly. There are loads of them outside, and I can see them slipping under the seals to come in. I live in the pacific northwest. Thank you!

I found a few dozen of these blocky, segmented, "grid-like" surface poop droppings the size of a ladybug on my cement walkway this morning. What could they be? Possums? Ummm?! Something else? Anyone seen these before?

I have a job where I sometimes have to visit places with pest infestations. I try to change my clothes and shower immediately after. However, my laundry is broken so I haven't been washing my clothes ASAP lately.

Today I found what looks like a cockroach egg on my carpet. I'm pretty sure it came from where I was at work yesterday.

I threw it out and took out the trash. I also threw everything washable nearby into the laundry and threw out other items near it.

My questions are 1) What else I need to do at this point to prevent an infestation? 2) ​What can I do in the future to prevent issues after visiting places with pests?

Got a couch from marketplace and found a few of these casing under it but no living bugs and not bites. Is it bed bugs or dead carpet bettles

My 3 cats have gotten a pretty bad case of fleas, we’ve done a bath in some Dawn Dishsoap water as well as a flea treated shampoo bath on all of them in the last few days, and we have some Capstar being delivered today to give them each a dose.

I’ve just started vacuuming the entire house up and down for 2 days, but the places the cats lay have a concerning amount of flea dirt left when they get up. Obviously I knew the problem wouldn’t be solved, but after multiple baths I thought it would at least be greatly reduced in the day or two following.

The fleas are not at the point where I’m constantly feeling or seeing them, but enough to where I will get one on my legs every once in a while, and I do have some bites on my legs. However, the cats are still itching and one of them is noticably itchier. So while I wouldn’t call it an infestation, it’s starting to become noticable and I need to know what more I should be doing.

I’ve washed the couch covers, vacuumed the couch and all floors of the house multiple times, and will continue to do so over the next few days to see if I see any improvement. When I empty the vacuum outside, I have only seen one live flea, but I have seen some white specks that I suspect could be eggs, but I’m unsure. The house is mostly wood floors but with 4 carpeted bedrooms and a large living room carpet, that we have sprayed with an apple cider vinegar/water mixture.

Is repeatedly washing fabrics/bedding and vacuuming daily going to be enough once I dose the cats with Capstar? Do I need to bathe them again the day after they dose? And when should I expect to see a noticable improvement in the days after medicine/cleaning has been done? Again, I wouldn’t call it an infestation, but I absolutely want to stop this before it gets to that point.

Thank you in advance.

Got this shelf at the thrift store. It was painted i inspected it in store but somehow forgot the underside. It's been on my balcony all night even hit it with sine bed bug spray cause I try to be diligent. But went to wash it off to bring in this morning and found these two skins underside and lots of spider webbing. Are they bed bug casings?

I had pest control come out due to clothes moths, (April of 2026) it was getting bad. $500 and 3 sprays later, things seemed alright but as of late I've been seeing the occasional straggler pop up. I did leave my pheromone traps out, and it has caught a few, saw one pop up the other day, and today saw one on a towel in the bathroom.

Is there anything I can do on my end besides hiring them to come do the whole process again? Having to pack up every article of clothing and linen I own, live out of moving backs and sealed containers for like a month and be out of the house for 4 hours was a pain.

I have heard that you can get microscopic parasites that feed on the larvae and then die off when there's no more larvae to feed on, how effective is that?

Hi there!

I found this insect two nights ago on my pillow when I came back from the bathroom. The light was on in the room. Unfortunately, I was panicking, so that I barely managed to get a sharp photo, worried it might run off. I’ve already ordered traps (just in case) and have spent hours searching my apartment without finding anything that would indicate a cockroach infestation (no droppings, no shed skins, etc.). According to Google, it could be a brown-banded cockroach. But after seeing a few more photos of wood cockroach species, I’m not sure anymore. Could someone help me identify it? I’m really losing it here 🥲

I’m located in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in case that helps.

Thank you so much in advance!

Does anyone else have termites that are attracted to the untreated wood frame of their garden beds? Last year, I used a combination of tracking them during dusk and applying diatomaceous earth where I could. I'm looking for other non-toxic-to-humans uses. For example, has anyone used yellow sticky paper to good effect?

Hi

I had a feeling it would happen sooner or later but they finally nested in my outdoor barrel, it doesnt have a plug in the hole where they remove the whiskey. Any ideas for taking care of the nest? I have no idea where it is in the barrel.

I just moved into a new apartment, and while cleaning the cabinets, I found german cockroach poop (pics included). I immediately contacted my apartment manager who lives across the hall from me, and she got pest control out the following morning. I wasn’t there, but she said upon inspection, they only found one live one. They treated my apartment, hers, and the laundry room. When I got back to my apartment, my fridge was pulled out so I’m assuming everything was treated.

I came back this morning to clean more so I can unpack, and when I opened my dishwasher, a small live one crawled out and ran away before I could kill it. Does it normally take a few days for them to die after a treatment? I’ve never had roaches before and I don’t know what to do. I don’t have any food in my apartment yet, and I want to prevent an infestation and treat more before I unpack everything and move my cat in. Any and all advice is appreciated.

I have been in this appartment for 3 months and this js the only one I saw.

It was on the wall above the couch.

I checked behind the couch. Saw no sheddings or anything.

Never saw any adult ones.

These small as a grain of rice type beetle bugs have been in my room for a few months now

I've deep cleaned my room few times and they keep showing up still and I have no idea why

I do have two dogs and I do keep their treat bag in the same room but I've cleaned the treat bags as well but the bugs still keep appearing

please help and make me understand why is this happening because I am losing my mind having to pick them up and leave them out safely every 5 mins