IdentifyUS provides professional services to quickly evaluate and identify pests and pest-affected items. We work with individuals, businesses, schools, laboratories, clinicians, museums, libraries, food service establishments and just about anybody else who needs expert evaluation of pests and pest-related problems. We are frequently asked to provide guidance on the biology and management of bed bugs, ticks, and head lice, and we also provide insights and guidance on diverse other pest-related issues. Our expertise includes:
- Identification of any pests affecting public health, whether they bite, sting, infest or create other risks to persons or other animals, and most pests of relevance to commodities, whether during their production, shipping or storage
- Landscape architecture to ensure proposed or built designs do/did not create new habitat for arthropod, mammalian or avian pests that may affect persons, dwellings or critical infrastructure
- Building design reviews to ensure dwellings are appropriately pest-proofed to exclude pests and to deny pests the ability to disperse though buildings
- Sanitation assessments of solid waste handling and sanitary plumbing systems to reduce the attractiveness of these sites for pests and to limit the chances for pests to enter and thrive within
- Intervention design to develop justifiable, attainable and sustainable goals meant to reduce risks to persons, infrastructure, the environment and limiting budgets
- Archival / conservancy assessments to prevent and mitigate pests and pest damage to museum and library accessions
- Public relations / reputational responses arising from injuries or damages sustained from pests
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need help identifying or evaluating something of concern to you or if you are interested in our identification services and visual search tools.
Fast, Expert & Comprehensive Services
We examine digital images you upload electronically to us and/or the actual items you physically send to us. We then provide you with answers and guidance from a recognized expert.
- the bug you found on your bed may be a bed bug?
- your child may have head lice or nits?
- a tick you discovered may be the kind that can transmit Lyme disease?
- the ‘worm’ on the pantry shelf will eat your food or cause you harm?
- a creature in your factory or showroom might cause damage to your products?
- rodents or birds entering your facility might pose risk to your operation or lead to regulatory violations?
If so, we can help solve your mystery and offer you useful information on what to do next. Learn more about why our services differ from others.
In the past, our services were offered through the Harvard School of Public Health, where we identified specimens for medical practitioners, laboratory workers, public health officials, pest control professionals, property managers and the general public. To serve you better, and to offer a wider array of services with the same great level of expertise and assurance, we have now transferred our operations to this independent website where we offer:
- Confidentiality: Rest assured that we will not divulge your name or address to any other party without your permission.
- Guidance: In addition to identifying pests, we will provide you with insight as to what, if anything, you might consider to eliminate the problem. We will also do our best to respond to your additional questions
Pro Bono Work
Because so much of our work has a public health component to it, we often receive inquiries for help from individuals without resources to pay for professional specimen identification. Some customers have helped us help others by offering a donation as a means to “pay it forward” to someone else that may benefit from their generosity. Rest assured that those contributions go a long way to helping others in need.
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By submitting specimens and related files and images to IdentifyUS, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions of our Disclaimer and Privacy Policy.