Identify common pests found in El Paso County homes and businesses. Danger levels, warning signs, and how to stop them — from Master Home Inspectors who know where pests hide.
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German Cockroach
🔴 High📅 Year-Round
The most common indoor cockroach in El Paso. Small, fast-breeding, and resistant to many treatments. Lives inside walls, under appliances, and in cabinets. A single female produces up to 400 offspring in her lifetime.
⚠️ Warning Signs
Dark pepper-like droppings near appliances
Musty oily odor in kitchen or bathroom
Egg cases (brown capsules) in corners
Roaches visible during daytime (heavy infestation)
Large reddish-brown cockroach (up to 2 inches). Primarily an outdoor pest that invades during monsoon season. Often found in sewers, drains, and around moisture. Less of a breeding threat indoors than German roaches.
The most destructive pest in El Paso. Lives in underground colonies and travels through mud tubes to reach wood. Often causes tens of thousands in structural damage before homeowners notice. Swarms in spring.
The only scorpion in the US with a medically significant sting. Common in El Paso and western Texas. Unlike most scorpions, bark scorpions can climb walls and ceilings — they end up in beds, shoes, and clothing. Stings require immediate medical attention for children and elderly.
⚠️ Warning Signs
Scorpions visible at night (use UV/blacklight)
Found in shoes, towels, or bedding
Common in cluttered garages and storage areas
🛡️ Prevention Tips
Remove rockpiles, woodpiles, and debris against the home
Seal all exterior gaps and cracks
Install door sweeps
Reduce outdoor lighting that attracts insects (scorpion food)
Established throughout El Paso County and visually identical to European honey bees. Responds to disturbance with mass stinging attacks and will pursue threats over a quarter mile. Any bee colony near your home should be treated as potentially Africanized.
⚠️ Warning Signs
Bee swarm visible on tree, wall, or structure
Increased bee activity near eaves or utility boxes
Buzzing inside walls or ceilings
🛡️ Prevention Tips
Seal potential nesting sites (utility boxes, empty pipes)
Do not disturb any bee colony
Call a professional immediately if a colony is found
Slender, agile rats that climb and nest in attics, walls, and roof spaces. Common in El Paso residential areas. Carry diseases and cause serious structural damage by gnawing on wiring, pipes, and insulation. A mouse can fit through a dime-sized gap.
⚠️ Warning Signs
Scratching or scurrying in walls or ceiling at night
Small, prolific rodents that invade El Paso homes seeking warmth in cooler months. Can fit through a gap the size of a dime. Contaminate food, damage wiring, and carry disease. A single pair can produce 200 offspring per year.
⚠️ Warning Signs
Small dark droppings near food or in drawers
Gnaw marks on packaging
Nests made of shredded materials in hidden areas
Ammonia smell in confined spaces
🛡️ Prevention Tips
Seal all gaps around plumbing and utility penetrations
Present in El Paso homes and recognized by the violin-shaped marking on their back. Prefer undisturbed areas — closets, stored boxes, garages, and attics. Bites cause tissue necrosis and may require medical treatment.
Aggressive, stinging ants that build mound colonies in yards and landscaping. Painful stings cause burning welts and can be dangerous for those with allergies. Very common in El Paso residential yards.
Several wasp species are common in El Paso including paper wasps, yellow jackets, and cicada killers. Colonies peak in size during late summer and early fall, when wasps are most aggressive. Nests are built in eaves, attics, and underground.
⚠️ Warning Signs
Paper nest visible under eaves or in attic
Increased wasp activity near roofline
Wasps entering and exiting a gap in wall or ground
🛡️ Prevention Tips
Inspect eaves and attic vents in spring before nesting begins
Recognizable by the red hourglass marking on the underside of the abdomen. Found throughout El Paso in garages, woodpiles, sheds, and undisturbed corners. Their venom is a neurotoxin — bites require immediate medical attention, especially for children and elderly.
⚠️ Warning Signs
Irregular, messy webs low to the ground
Spider seen in dark corners, garages, or under furniture
Bite causing intense muscle pain, cramping, or sweating
🛡️ Prevention Tips
Wear gloves when handling firewood or moving stored items
Shake out shoes and clothing left in the garage
Seal gaps in foundations, doors, and window frames
Long, segmented arthropods that invade El Paso homes in large numbers during and after monsoon rains. They prefer moist environments and typically enter through gaps at ground level. Not dangerous — but alarming in numbers and can emit a foul-smelling fluid when disturbed.
⚠️ Warning Signs
Large numbers found along walls, in garages, or in basements
Surge in activity after heavy rain
Dead millipedes in window sills or along baseboards
🛡️ Prevention Tips
Seal gaps at foundation level and door sweeps
Reduce moisture around the home — fix drainage issues
Remove leaf litter, mulch, and debris near the foundation
Keep exterior lights off or use yellow bulbs to reduce insect attraction
Fast-moving predatory arthropods with one pair of legs per segment. The Giant Desert Centipede found in El Paso can reach 6–8 inches and delivers a painful, venomous bite. They enter homes seeking prey (insects) and moisture, often found in bathrooms, basements, and closets.
⚠️ Warning Signs
Sightings in bathrooms, kitchens, or basements
Fast movement along walls or floors at night
Found near other insect activity (their food source)
Solitary wasps that build distinctive mud tube nests on walls, eaves, and under overhangs. Very common in El Paso. Unlike social wasps, mud daubers are rarely aggressive and seldom sting. However, their nests can attract other pests and are unsightly. They hunt spiders to provision their nests.
⚠️ Warning Signs
Mud tube nests on exterior walls, eaves, or inside garages
Single wasp seen carrying mud
Nests under porch ceilings or in protected overhangs
🛡️ Prevention Tips
Knock down and remove mud nests early in the season
Seal gaps in eaves and soffits
Reduce spider populations around the home (their food source)
Slender wasps that build open, umbrella-shaped paper nests under eaves, porch ceilings, and in shrubs. Very common in El Paso neighborhoods. Colonies are smaller than yellow jackets but paper wasps are highly defensive and will sting repeatedly when their nest is threatened. Stings are painful and can trigger allergic reactions.
⚠️ Warning Signs
Open honeycomb-shaped paper nest under eaves or overhangs
Wasps hovering around roofline or porch area
Increased wasp activity near entry points
🛡️ Prevention Tips
Inspect eaves and porch ceilings monthly in spring
Remove nests early when small (fewer than 10 wasps)
Seal gaps in siding, soffits, and fascia boards
Call a professional for established or hard-to-reach colonies