The Clue
Irksome ones (5 letter answer)
The Answer
PESTS
Tags
Notes
The answer PESTS is common and appears about once every 225 puzzles.
Related Clues
Annoyances
Annoyers
Aphids
Buttinskies
Nudges
Nudnicks
Nudniks
Nuisances
Tormentors
Vexers
Aphids, ticks, etc.
Aphids and weevils
Baneful bunch
Dennis the Menace et al.
Flies, e.g.
Gadflies, e.g.
Gnats and brats
Gnats and mosquitoes
Gnats and rats
Irksome imps
Lapel grabbers
Mosquitoes, e.g.
Mosquitoes, fleas, etc.
Pains in the neck
Punkies, e.g.
Raid targets
Royal pains
Targets of swats
Baby brothers, typically
Earwigs, mites and such
Flies, ants and such
Flies around the world?
Gnats, rats and bats
Rats and gnats
Pains, so to speak
Reasons to call an exterminator
Younger brothers, stereotypically
Younger siblings, traditionally
Bad news for a crop farmer
Raccoons around campsites, e.g.
Creatures with six or more legs, usually
They might be smoked out
Definition
PEST as a noun:
1. (plague, pestilence, pest, pestis) = a serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has bitten an infected animal
2. (plague, pestilence, pest) = any epidemic disease with a high death rate
3. (pest, blighter, cuss, pesterer, gadfly) = a persistently annoying person
4. any unwanted and destructive insect or other animal that attacks food or crops or livestock etc.; "he sprayed the garden to get rid of pests"; "many pests have developed resistance to the common pesticides"