# Exterminators/Bug people...Help! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 10, 2004, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exterminators-bug-people-help/244454 "2004-05-10T14:20:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Granuaile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecccb3/32.png) [@Granuaile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Granuaile)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exterminators-bug-people-help/244454/1 "2004-05-10T14:20:37Z")
I have these tiny little bugs in my master bath bathtub. They’re slightly bigger than the period at the end of this sentence and the little bastards jump. :eek: I’d prefer a non toxic way to get rid of them because the baby’s cot is in the room with us. But, if necessary, the baby can sleep in his brother’s room and I’ll go Nam on the little bath dwelling f\*ckers. I’ve Googled and found nothing. I don’t want to call pest control if I don’t have to because of the $$$. Please Dopers, any ideas on what they are and how to get rid of them? ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exterminators-bug-people-help/244454/2 "2004-05-10T14:36:55Z")
Get a fogger at wal-mart. Bomb your house especially the bathroom. Make sure to cover all food and close all doors where the there are no little f\*ckers. You’ll be fine. Are they fleas by any chance? I’d think not too many bugs jump as you say…and of that size. ---
**Author:** ![Granuaile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecccb3/32.png) [@Granuaile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Granuaile)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exterminators-bug-people-help/244454/3 "2004-05-10T14:53:58Z")
Thanks **Phlosphr** …I don’t know too much about bugs but I don’t think they’re fleas. They: -are only in the bathtub, not on the tile, in the other bathroom, or anywhere else in the house -don’t bite -don’t _look_ like fleas cause I’ve seen those And we don’t have nor know anybody with pets. What the hell are they? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exterminators-bug-people-help/244454/4 "2004-05-10T15:10:37Z")
In the bathroom tub only huh…? I’m honestly not sure what they are. I would get some **RAID** and be rid of them. ---
**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exterminators-bug-people-help/244454/5 "2004-05-10T15:10:55Z")
Aliens. They gotta be aliens. I, for one, would like to welcome our bathtub dwelling overlords. ---
**Author:** ![TwoTrouts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@TwoTrouts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoTrouts)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exterminators-bug-people-help/244454/6 "2004-05-10T15:15:04Z")
Hmmm. Do you have hosueplants in the bathroom. They sound like Springtails (Collembola) to me. Primitive insects, they can jump, usually found in plant soil or damp places (bathroom drain maybe?). ---
**Author:** ![Granuaile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecccb3/32.png) [@Granuaile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Granuaile)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exterminators-bug-people-help/244454/7 "2004-05-10T20:04:03Z")
**TwoTrouts** , thanks for the post. I checked a few sites and that’s what those bastids are! Any ideas on how to get rid of them? (short of sending them to **Anonymous Coward** 😉 ) Any one? ---
**Author:** ![Granuaile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecccb3/32.png) [@Granuaile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Granuaile)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exterminators-bug-people-help/244454/8 "2004-05-10T20:10:46Z")
Oh, and to answer your question…I don’t have any houseplants at all. But there is a window in the bathroom that is kept closed. It’s kept closed because when I left it open, we’d get “springtails”. If closed, no alien overlords to be seen. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![TwoTrouts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@TwoTrouts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoTrouts)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exterminators-bug-people-help/244454/9 "2004-05-10T20:47:54Z")
Granuaile, glad I could help! They may be coming from the drain, having found an air pocket down there to colonize. Simply flush the drain with Drano or some other caustic substance to remove them and any “food” source they may be feasting on. If the drain has an overflow/air vent, they may have colonized there. Try shooting some liqud cleanser in there too.