What's The Difference Between An Insect and A Pest?

While it may sound like a silly question, many newbies to the world of DIY pest control confuse the terms "pest" and "insect" or in some cases, incorrectly use the terms interchangeably. The fact of the matter is that not all insects are pests and not all pests are insects.

It is important to distinguish between pests and insects in order to better understand and categorize the two and to make it easier to approach pest control treatments.

What Are Insects?

When you think of the word insects, you may automatically go to the word "bug". While this may be true, not all bugs are insects. Insects are classified as any living organism that has six legs and a three-segmented body consisting of a head, thorax and abdomen as well as a hard outer covering called an exoskeleton. Insects also typically will have antennae or wings. Insects also are invertebrates, meaning they don't have a backbone.

So, for example, ants, flies, bees, mosquitoes, bed bugs and cockroaches are insects, but ticks, centipedes and spiders are not insects because they don't have all of the traits mentioned.

What Are Pests?

A pest is a broad term that is defined as any living creature that is undesirable to have present because of some unpleasant feature (they are destructive, unpleasant or damaging in some type of way). Insects can be classified as pests as well as animals like rodents and birds, fungus, and even weed plants.

As mentioned earlier, not all insects are automatically pests because there are beneficial insects that are not destructive or intrusive and can be an asset to have present like honeybees (because of pollination) or spiders and lizards (because they eat smaller insects). There are even animals and plants that may not necessarily qualify as pests and are beneficial as well.

So when regarding something as a pest you have to look at the creature and their behavior and ask yourself if their presence is in any way a nuisance, damaging, a health hazard, or undesired. If so, then they would be a pest no matter what they are.

The Significance Of Insect vs Pests

When it comes to pest control and you have an unwanted infestation of something, often the solution to remove the problem requires the use of a pesticide. It's important to note that all insecticides are pesticides, but not all pesticides are insecticides.

There are some pesticides that target a specific pest, but will not do damage to an insect. Likewise, there are some insecticides that can harm a specific insect, but may not harm another creature regarded as a pest such as a rodent or a weed. Also, some insecticides may harm your target pest and may also harm beneficial insects that come in contact with the chemical.

This is why when you are encountering a creature on your property, whether it be an insect, weed or whatever else, you should consider whether they are causing direct or indirect harm to you or your property as well as the impact that using a pesticide will have on other insects and creatures that may be present. This will help you to select the right product to address the specific pest issue.