The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) has announced the winner in its first annual Pest Photo Contest, a national online competition that challenged photographers to submit images of common household pests, rodents and small wildlife.
Pete Elbert, Photag5345, has won the grand prize of $1,000 for his photo submission of a yellow jacket.
Pete found the female yellow jacket bothering guests inside a hotel lobby in West Virginia. Hoping to get a few good shots of the stinging insect, he captured the pest in a plastic cup and set it free on some shrubbery outside of the hotel. Luckily, he was able to snap about 10 to 12 photos of the yellow jacket before it flew off into the night. To enter, photographers - amateur and avid alike - submitted their favorite pest photos to the PestWorld Photography Contest group on Flickr.
All entries were judged on criteria including originality and creativity, adherence to creative assignment and overall appeal.
The NPMA received more than 350 stunning pest photos from talented photographers around the world.
Check out the nine finalists:
Dragonfly by Modgilla
Bumble Bee by Matthew White
Mosquito by Diane C. Gates
Termites by Bug Zero
Fly by Jerri Moon Cantone
Spider by Photag5354
Earwig by Scox73
Grasshopper by t.alley79
Hissing Cockroaches by tdupuy
Thank you to everyone who entered and congratulations to the finalists. We look forward to receiving some more superior submissions next year!