Tools
Pest droppings identifier 2026
Pepper specks in a cabinet are usually German roach. Rice-sized pellets with pointed ends are usually mouse. When size overlaps, ridges vs a smooth pellet is the tell.
Answer two questions and open the matching guide. Photograph it before you wipe. This is a prompt, not a diagnosis.
Answer both. You get a next page, not a species name.
How to tell insect from rodent
Insect pellets often show lengthwise ridges. Rodent pellets are smoother. Many mouse pellets taper to a point. Size overlaps, so the ridge is the tell, not a millimeter guess. That order comes from Cornell’s NYS IPM note and the University of Nebraska house-mouse chapter.
German roaches rarely leave a pellet you can roll between fingers. They leave pepper specks in a hinge gap or cabinet track. See roach droppings. The written sorter is the pest droppings guide.
What this will not do
It will not name a species from a phone photo. Bats, squirrels, and lizards are not in the two answers. If the pile is in an attic and you are not sure, log it in the sighting log and open the identify hub.
Do not sweep dry rodent piles. If the next job is a kitchen German, the cost path is cockroach exterminator cost.