Integrated Pest Management · Agriculture and Natural Resources
University of California
Household Pests
UC Master Gardeners get many questions related to household pests. The materials posted here will help you familiarize yourself and others in your Master Gardener program with these pests and safe and effective management solutions.
Presentation
UC IPM Area IPM Advisor Andrew Sutherland prepared a PowerPoint presentation which was taught at several of the regional Advanced IPM for Master Gardener workshops in 2012 and 2013. The presentation covers wood-destroying insects, ants, bedbugs, cockroaches, and pantry pests. You can download a PDF of the presentation and view it to teach yourself about household pests, or use it as a presentation for others. A script and handouts are also included for use when giving the presentation to a group. This presentation is for use only by UC Master Gardeners or other UCCE personnel.
Hands-on displays
Make your presentation more interesting by bringing in samples of pest insects, damaged goods or tools to manage household pests. Examples are ant bait stations or dispensers, bed bug traps, cockroach traps, pheromone traps for Indianmeal moth, wood with damage from various wood borers.
Handouts
These are some of the handouts that relate to pests covered in the presentation. You can review these online or download a PDF.
Pest Notes are available for many other household pests as well. Go to Pests of Homes, Structures, People and Pets to see the list.
Ants are probably the most common household pest. Many additional resources related to ants and their management can be found on the Ants menu page.
