Lately, we’ve been getting these tiny insects in our apartment and we don’t know what they are. We call them “stupid bugs” because they are slow and seem oblivious to our presence, making them very easy to kill.
These bugs are very small; maybe 2mm long or so. They are brown in colour and have smooth, oval-shaped bodies. They can fly and are very slow-moving, even in flight (slow enough that it’s pretty easy to just grab them in mid-air). The wings are hidden underneath the shell, ladybug-style. We’re in central Florida, if that helps.
Any idea as to what these may be, and where they could be coming from?
Do they only show up for a few weeks each year?
Could be June bugs (not to be confused with the bigger June beetle).
Stupid bugs would be a better name, for they seem to live for bonking their heads into lights and turning up dead in the sink the next morning. They also are experts at attempting to burrow into the carpet, except that they can’t get very far and end up hiding with their butts hanging out.
The roach adapted to human households more successfully
Can you find a web link to what you call “june bugs”? I did a search, and every site I found seem to think “june bug” and “june beetle” are synonymous. None of them differentiated between the two. Stupid bugs certainly aren’t june bugs/beetles as they are 3/4 to 1 inch long, while stupid bugs are around 1/16 inch. They are probably a type of beetle because they can best be described as tiny, brown ladybug-like insects.
Also, I don’t think they’re june bugs because they are not really seasonal. We do seem to be getting more lately, but we’ve seen them year-round.
When I lived in California, our apartment got infested with a bunch of bugs like that, and we eventually figured out that they were coming from an old bag of flour in our kitchen cabinet. Check around and see if you have something they could be breeding in.
I don’t know those insects’ official name, but in Israel they are called “Khomeini” (as in Ayatollah Khomeini).
It is because they are brown (“khom” in Hebrew), because they were first introduced to Israel in that period, and I guess because the “love” everyone felt for that man.
I remember reading the insect was brought to Israel as a hidden passenger in a wood cargo (from California, as I recall), and since then they multiplied
If they are in the flour, those buggers are WEEVILS. Bad News!
Immediately empty all foodstuffs from all cabinets. Open up all packages (sealed or not) and do a close inspection of package contents. If nothing is moving, then transfer the contents to a sealed container or heavy-duty zipper plastic bag.
If you see bugs, THROW IT ALL AWAY. Take the discards all the way out to the dumpster/trash can outside.
Wipe down the inside of your cabinets with a bleach solution, and allow to air-dry. If the infestation was extensive, you may want to spray the cabinets with a bug bomb. Leave the cabinets open to ventilate for a day or so afterwards before you put the foodstuffs back in.
Whenever you buy NEW foodstuffs: pasta, flour, cereal, Shake-n-Bake, Hamburger Helper, Rice-a-Roni, IMMEDIATELY transfer food into covered plastic containers or heavy-duty zipper bags. That way, if you are importing a new infestation, it will be confined to that ONE ITEM, and you can just throw it away secure in the knowledge that you haven’t invited a new hoarde of bugs into your pantry.
~VOW
I also live in central florida and the only thing I can think of that you might be talking about is Love bugs. They are small dark with a red area. They are also attached to eachother hence love bugs they are quite harmless but i know at certain times of the year they are everywhere. so it could be them.
I know what weevils and love bugs are, and these bugs aren’t that. They don’t really look like flour beetles either, my bugs are more rounded and don’t have the pronounced limbs or distinct body segments flour beetles have. However, I did trace the infestation to an old bag of flour in the back of the pantry that we forgot we even had, so I’m treating them as if they were flour beetles. Anyway, thanks for the leads!