This “no air conditioning” in the new apartment is taking some getting used to; I keep reminding myself that people lived without it for thousands of years. There are also multitudes of tiny, pretty little green bugs that fly around the lamps till I turn the lamps off, then they fly around me. They laugh at bug repellent (with so much Deet I have cancer already). I tried leaving a light on in a different part of the apartment, but they’re too smart to fall for that.
You can probably see the damn things, there are three of them on my computer screen! See 'em, right up by the logo?
Anyone know what they are and how I can keep them the hell offa me?
Gnats, maybe? I took an internet suggestion and left out little cups of dishwashing liquid and fruit juice for the little bastards to drown in, but other than that the sites all seem to say, “gnats? sorry, you’re screwed.”
Plenty of other possibilities, but those are two common ones. Whatever they are, if they’re green you can bet they’re not regular apartment dwellers. Aphids might like your houseplants, lacewings won’t even want those. Just something that is going through a summer population explosion and found itself being swept into your place with that humid NYC air. At the very least you can have the satisfaction of knowing that whatever they are, they’re unlikely to threaten permanent residence.
They look more like the first one, and they’re only a little bigger than a comma in this sentence. The dishes of dishwashing liquid and fruit juice are empty and corpse-free this morning; the only thing I can think of it to not turn on my bedroom light at all at night and maybe they’ll stay in the living room.
I have no houseplants, and the kitchen is clean (and on the other side of the apartment), so I dunno where they could be coming from.
Are they actually biting you? You have my sympathy, although I have no idea what they are. Perhaps a no-see-um mosquito net would be a good thing to get?
You may want to try flypaper as well. If you hang it in a corner, you won’t have to worry about getting caught up in it. It’s ugly as hell, but it works!
Raid would not be a good plan, as I’d have to spray the whole damn apartment, and I would not survive to see the results. I like the flypaper idea! I will pick some up tomorrow, as that gives me the added pleasure of jeering at their dying thrashes.
Thanks for the tip, Kalhoun: I rigged up my own flypaper for tonight, with paper plates and masking tape, which I attached to the bedside lamp and my headboard (all the stores are closed today).
I wonder what to do for a longterm solution, though? Maybe these are temp bugs. I’ll keep you up to date on my Pretty Green Bug Slaughter.
I’ll make one last pitch and then shut up. If your apartment is truly infested you can bomb it and return a few hours later with no ill effects to you. There will be a residual effect on the bugs, however.
I get tiny little leafhoppers all the time in my apartment. They get through the screens somehow. Thankfully, though, they don’t bother me — they hover around the lamps and, yes, my monitor late at night. I think it’s a function of living near a large number of trees in the summer.
If they’re actually biting you, then I’m inclined to think they’re not leafhoppers. However, if they’re just bothering you, you might try sleeping with a fan on — they’re not terribly strong flyers.
Glad I could help! Hmmm…long term?..something tells me these are probably temps, like ants, ladybugs, or what have you. The only “permanent bugs” I ever had, unfortunately, were roaches, which are hard to get rid of in an apartment situation.
Here’s the TrueValue Hardware store blurb on house flys, which I know isn’t your issue, but is still rather interesting:
The other bummer, which I found whilst cruising around on where to BUY fly paper, is that Ace Hardware carries a 24-sheet package for like $86!!! That seems insane to me. Maybe there’s a local joint that will sell you just a few.
