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West Virginia pest intelligence

Know what you're looking at.

The pests that show up in Eastern Panhandle homes, what they leave behind, and when it's worth a call. Tap any pest for how Buckie's handles it.

Snap & identify your pest

Not sure what it is? Send Buckie's a photo and you'll be told what you're dealing with — and whether it needs a visit.

Black widow spider on its webVenomousBlack widow & other spidersLatrodectus mactans Ant on a blade of grassNuisanceAntsTapinoma · Camponotus Yellow jackets on a nestStingingYellow jacketsVespula spp. Bald-faced hornet nest in a treeStingingBald-faced hornetsDolichovespula maculata Paper wasp on an open combStingingPaper waspsPolistes spp. Carpenter bee on a tree trunkWood damageCarpenter beesXylocopa virginica Termite worker in woodStructuralSubterranean termitesReticulitermes flavipes MosquitoBitesMosquitoesCulex · Aedes Shield-shaped stink bugSeasonalBrown marmorated stink bugHalyomorpha halys Cricket close-upNuisanceCricketsRhaphidophoridae · Gryllidae

Showing 10 of 10 pests common in Eastern Panhandle homes. Something else? Ask Buckie.

Venomous · year-round, peaks in fall

Spiders

Request spider treatment

What you'll notice

Webs in corners, window frames, basements and garages. Egg sacs in undisturbed spots. Black widows favor woodpiles, sheds, crawl spaces and the underside of outdoor furniture.

Why it matters

Most spiders are harmless, but a house full of them means a house full of the insects they're eating. Black widows and brown recluses are the exceptions worth taking seriously, especially around kids and pets.

How it's handled

Treat the exterior perimeter and the interior harborage spots, knock down the webbing, and reduce the insect population that's feeding them. Spider work is a big part of general pest control.

Spring through fall

Ants

Request ant treatment

What you'll notice

Trails along counters, baseboards and windowsills. Ants coming out of an outlet or a crack in the trim. Small piles of sawdust-like debris near wood if carpenter ants are involved.

Why it matters

The ants you see are a fraction of the colony. Spraying the trail kills scouts; the colony reroutes. Carpenter ants also hollow out damp wood over time.

How it's handled

Find the route in and the moisture or food that's drawing them, treat at the source so the colony is affected rather than just the foragers, and seal up what can be sealed.

Stinging · most aggressive in fall

Yellow jackets

Request yellow jacket treatment

What you'll notice

Wasps coming and going from a hole in the ground, a gap in the siding, or under an eave. Sometimes they find their way into a room through a wall void.

Why it matters

Unlike a visible paper nest, yellow jackets nest where you can't see the colony — which can be thousands strong by fall. They sting repeatedly and swarm when the nest is disturbed by mowing or vibration.

How it's handled

Locate the entrance, treat the colony inside the void or ground, and address the opening so next year's queen doesn't pick the same spot.

Stinging · spring through first frost

Bald-faced hornets

Request nest removal

What you'll notice

A large grey enclosed nest hanging in a tree, a shrub or from the house. Steady traffic to and from one spot.

Why it matters

Nests grow all summer. A nest that's fist-sized in June is football-sized by September, and the colony defends it aggressively. Ladder-and-a-can-of-spray is how people end up in urgent care.

How it's handled

Protective gear, the right product for the nest type, and removal. This is one of the most common calls Buckie's gets — and one of the most satisfying to solve in a single visit.

A mature nest under a roof edge — what a colony builds by late summer if left alone. Stock footage.
Stinging · spring through fall

Paper wasps

Request nest removal

What you'll notice

Open paper-comb nests under eaves, deck rails, shutters and light fixtures. Wasps hovering around a fixed spot on the house.

Why it matters

Paper wasps are less aggressive than yellow jackets, but a nest over a doorway or on a play set will eventually get somebody stung — and they come back to the same sheltered spots every spring.

How it's handled

Nests come down and the spot is treated. During quarterly service, new starts get knocked down before they grow.

Wood damage · spring & summer

Carpenter bees

Ask about bees

What you'll notice

Perfectly round holes in fascia, deck boards or trim with sawdust beneath. Large bees hovering at the same spots on the house every spring.

Why it matters

Carpenter bees reuse and extend the same tunnels every year, and woodpeckers tear into the wood after the larvae. Left alone, trim and railings get honeycombed.

How it's handled

It depends on the bee. We identify what you have and tell you the right approach — including when the right answer is a beekeeper rather than a treatment.

Structural · swarm in spring, active year-round

Subterranean termites

Request a termite inspection

What you'll notice

Mud tubes running up foundation walls or piers in the crawl space. Wood that sounds hollow. Discarded wings on a windowsill in spring. Paint that bubbles for no reason.

Why it matters

Termites eat structural wood from the inside and the damage is rarely covered by homeowners insurance. Early detection is the whole game.

How it's handled

An inspection of the foundation, accessible crawl space and sill areas. If there's activity, you're shown what was found and walked through the treatment before anything starts.

Bites · late spring through fall

Mosquitoes

Request mosquito treatment

What you'll notice

Bites within minutes of stepping outside, worst at dawn and dusk. Standing water in gutters, buckets, tarps, planters or low spots in the yard.

Why it matters

Beyond the itch, mosquitoes carry disease — and they turn a deck or yard you paid for into a place you avoid for half the year.

How it's handled

Treat the shaded resting areas and breeding sites around the property, and identify the water sources that keep refilling the population.

Seasonal · fall invasion, indoors all winter

Brown marmorated stink bug

Request stink bug treatment

What you'll notice

Dozens of shield-shaped brown bugs on the sunny side of the house in September and October. Then on curtains, lampshades and window frames inside through the winter. A musty smell when one is crushed.

Why it matters

They don't bite or breed indoors, but in West Virginia they show up by the hundreds, and once they're inside the walls you're stuck with them until spring.

How it's handled

Exterior treatment in late summer or early fall — before they move in — around windows, doors, siding gaps and the sunny exposures they cluster on. Timing is everything with this one.

Nuisance · late summer & fall

Crickets

Request cricket treatment

What you'll notice

Chirping from the basement or garage at night. Camel crickets — the big humpbacked ones that jump at you — in damp crawl spaces and basements. Nibbled fabric or paper in storage.

Why it matters

Mostly a nuisance, but a basement full of camel crickets points to a moisture problem, and they'll feed on stored clothing, cardboard and wallpaper paste.

How it's handled

Treat the entry points and the harborage areas, and point out the moisture conditions that are making the space attractive to them.

Bugs don't stand a chance. Call Buckie's today.

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Pest identifier

Not sure what it is? Send us a photo.

A phone snap of the bug, the nest or the damage usually tells Buckie's what you're dealing with before anyone comes out — and it goes to the same phone they answer.

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Your messages app opens with their number and a note already filled in — attach the picture and hit send. No account, no upload, no waiting.