PestSnap — identify any home bug or bite in 3 seconds

PestSnap is an iPhone app that uses AI vision to identify common US home pests, bites on human skin, droppings and other pest evidence, and parasites on dogs and cats. You point your camera at the bug, the bite, the evidence, or your pet, and within about three seconds the app returns a plain-English verdict and the next step you should take — a DIY method or a licensed exterminator. It is published by Loveiko Labs and costs $4.99 per week or $39.99 per year with a 7-day free trial.

Scan the Bug (photograph the insect or pest itself), Scan the Bite (photograph the bite pattern on human skin), Scan the Evidence (photograph droppings, mud tubes, holes in pantry, or other physical traces), and Scan on Pet (photograph a tick, flea, lice, or mite on a dog or cat). Three of the four modes — Bite, Evidence, On Pet — are not available in Picture Insect, iNaturalist, or Seek.

25+ of the most common US household pests across six categories: crawling pests (cockroach, bed bug, silverfish, earwig), biting and stinging insects (mosquito, tick, flea, wasp, bee, fire ant), spiders (house spider, wolf spider, brown recluse, black widow), structural pests (termite, carpenter ant, carpenter bee, powder post beetle), pantry pests (fruit fly, drain fly, pantry moth, weevil), and outdoor visitors (hornet, yellowjacket, stink bug, boxelder bug). We focus on what people find inside their homes, not the 10,000+ species global insect catalog.

PestSnap is built on a current-generation multimodal AI vision model and returns high-confidence identifications for the 25+ pests it covers when given a clear, well-lit photo from a reasonable distance. Accuracy drops with blurry photos, poor lighting, partial captures, unusual angles, and edge species like rare regional pests or larval stages. We do not claim 100% accuracy, and we do not think any photo-based bug ID app should. For confirmed infestations or before paying for treatment, always verify with a licensed exterminator's in-person inspection.

Yes, with caveats. Scan the Bite analyzes the bite pattern (cluster size and arrangement), distribution on the body (linear, random, exposed-skin-only), and surrounding skin reaction (welt size, color, halo) and matches them against documented patterns for bed bugs, mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, and spiders. It returns the most likely culprit plus what to watch for. This is identification reference only, not medical advice. Any bite with severe swelling, fever, a bullseye rash, spreading redness, or any allergic-reaction symptom needs a doctor, not an app. Call 911 or Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) for any bite with concerning symptoms.

Picture Insect (by Glority) is the most-installed bug identifier on the App Store and is excellent at what it does — naming any of 10,000+ insect species and giving a naturalist-style encyclopedia entry. PestSnap is built for a different job. It covers a tighter list (25+ common US home pests) and returns a homeowner-style verdict — harmless, nuisance, or infestation risk — plus 3-5 specific DIY methods and a one-tap exterminator finder. PestSnap also has Scan the Bite, Scan the Evidence, and Scan on Pet modes that Picture Insect does not have. Pick Picture Insect if you want to learn entomology. Pick PestSnap if you want to deal with a roach in the kitchen at 11 p.m.

Yes — bed bugs are one of the most-scanned pests in the app, in all four modes. Scan the Bug works on the bed bug itself; Scan the Bite works on the characteristic three-in-a-line bite pattern on exposed skin overnight; Scan the Evidence works on the rust-colored fecal spots on mattress seams and box springs. If the verdict comes back as bed bug, the next step is almost always a professional treatment — bed bugs are notoriously hard to DIY out of a unit, and PestSnap will say so rather than pretend a $20 spray solves it.

Yes — that is what Scan on Pet is for. Photograph the parasite while it is on your pet, or once removed onto a paper towel. PestSnap identifies whether it is a tick (and which species — deer tick, dog tick, lone star tick when visible), a flea, a louse, a mite, or sometimes something less alarming like a tick-shaped scab. For ticks attached longer than 24 hours, especially deer ticks in Lyme-endemic regions, the app links to Pet Poison Helpline (1-855-764-7661) and recommends a vet visit. This is not a substitute for a vet visit.

Physical traces of pests — what is left behind when the pest itself is hiding. The most common scans are: cockroach droppings (small dark grain-like specks near food sources), mouse and rat droppings (larger, distinct shape), termite mud tubes on foundations or basements, bed bug fecal smears on mattress seams, carpenter ant frass (sawdust-like debris), and pantry moth webbing in dry-goods packaging. Knowing what is leaving the trace is often more useful than seeing the bug itself, because evidence tells you whether there is a population, not just a stray individual.

PestSnap processes scan photos through a third-party AI vision provider for the identification itself; we do not retain the photo on our servers beyond the scan request, and we do not link photos to identifying information. Full details are in the privacy policy. If you are scanning bites on skin and want extra caution, you can use the camera in well-cropped mode to avoid capturing face or other identifying features.

$4.99 per week or $39.99 per year, both with a 7-day free trial. The weekly tier is for the renter who needs the app for one tense weekend and wants to cancel afterward; the annual tier works out to about 77¢ per week if you keep it. Both include unlimited scans, all four scan modes, all 25+ pest entries, the DIY methods library, expert chat, and the exterminator finder. There is no separate per-scan fee.

On your iPhone, open Settings, tap your name at the top, tap Subscriptions, find PestSnap, and tap Cancel Subscription. The cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period — the app continues working until then. To avoid being charged after the trial, cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends. If you cancel within the trial, you are not charged.

The bug identification itself requires an internet connection because the AI vision model runs on a server, not on your iPhone. The DIY methods library, the emergency phone numbers (Poison Control, Pet Poison Helpline), and previously-completed scans are available offline. If you are scanning in a basement with poor signal, take the photo first — when signal returns, PestSnap finishes the identification.

Yes, when one product clearly outperforms alternatives for a given pest at a given budget tier. For example, for German cockroaches the app recommends specific gel bait brands because they substantially outperform sprays for that species. Some product links are affiliate links — we disclose this in the app's About section under Affiliate Disclosure and on every recommendation card. The recommendation algorithm prioritizes effectiveness for the identified pest, not commission rate.

You can install and run it from anywhere the App Store is available, and many of the pests it covers (cockroaches, bed bugs, fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, common spiders) are global. But PestSnap's pest catalog, DIY product recommendations, exterminator finder, and the emergency phone numbers (Poison Control, Pet Poison Helpline) are US-centric. If you are in Canada, the UK, or Australia, the bug ID will usually work, but the next-step recommendations may not match your local product availability. Localizations for en-GB, DE, and FR are on the roadmap.

It tries to, and is conservative about it. The two medically significant US spiders — brown recluse (Loxosceles reclusa) and black widow (Latrodectus mactans) — are both in the database. When the app sees a candidate, it returns the identification at a confidence level and recommends an in-person identification by a professional exterminator before any action that requires touching the spider. Misidentifying a wolf spider as a brown recluse is common because of similar coloration; the markings the app looks for (violin-shaped marking, eye arrangement) are not always visible in normal phone photos. If you have any reason to believe you have been bitten by either, call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) regardless of what the app says.

For infestation-risk verdicts (termites, bed bugs, German cockroaches, fire ants, carpenter ants) the app does not push DIY-only solutions. It offers a path: the DIY methods if you want to try first, and a one-tap exterminator finder that connects you to licensed pros in your area with quotes in minutes. The exterminator finder is a referral integration with services like Terminix, Orkin, and Ehrlich — we disclose any affiliate relationship in the app's About section. Confirmed termite or large-scale bed bug infestations almost always need a professional; we say so plainly.

For the 25+ pests in the catalog, the DIY methods are reviewed against published academic and university extension service sources (Cornell IPM, UC IPM, USDA, EPA pesticide guidance) plus the manufacturer-claimed efficacy of recommended products. Where the academic evidence is mixed (essential-oil sprays, ultrasonic repellers), we say so rather than promising results. The library is updated quarterly. For health-sensitive situations — pregnancy, infants in the home, pets, chemical sensitivities — we link to non-chemical methods first.

No. PestSnap is an identification reference, not a medical service. For severe allergic reactions (difficulty breathing, throat swelling, widespread hives), suspected severe spider envenomation, or any bite where the affected person is going into shock — call 911 immediately. Do not stop to take a photo. PestSnap has Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) and Pet Poison Helpline (1-855-764-7661) one tap from the home screen for exactly the case where you do need to identify something quickly but you also need professional medical guidance.

PestSnap is built by Loveiko Labs, an indie iOS studio in Pattaya, Thailand, founded in 2024 by Valeriy Loveyko. The studio publishes around a dozen single-purpose AI apps including JewelSnap, WatchSnap, VeriBag, and BumpCheck. PestSnap is funded by user subscriptions and affiliate revenue from disclosed exterminator referrals — there are no advertisers, no banner ads, and no data sales.