Can you tell from these verytiny pictures and this videoI took of one walking (quite quickly and with a bit of a waddle) what this little bug is? It’s dark brown and about an 1/8th of an inch long. I’ve been finding them in my house lately. At a rate of about 1 a day so not exactly an infestation but I’d like to know what they are. Oddly, if I find one per day (and that’s just a guess), I’d say that at least three a week are found dead and in the toilet. Either they like water or they’re starting out in the bathroom.
I first noticed them in the summer when I found that it was considerably cheaper to put some fans in the windows and turn off the AC so at that point I just figured they were coming in from outside. But now that it’s 5 months later I’m starting to wonder if I have a nest, or eggs or something.
Also, I should mention that from looking at pictures, these don’t appear to be ticks or bed bugs (their shell is solid on their back whereas bedbegs appear to have a segmented shell). Also no one in my house (me, my daughter or my dogs) have shown any signs of bites so I really don’t think this is anything to worry about.
I kill them on sight…if it’s convenient, otherwise I just flick them across the room. If it’s just that they came in during the summer and they have a long lifespan, I’d imagine they’ll die off eventually. I’m more worried that they’re breeding in the house somewhere in which case I’d like to figure out what they are so I can figure out how to get rid of them.
If I catch one later on, I’ll get out my real camera and take some better pictures then what my cell phone can do. Unless, of course, someone can ID them before then.
There are too many bugs to guess about this one’s identity. Why don’t you capture a few, put them in a pill box and send them to you local entomologist hobbyists?
Yes, I did a google image search of “carpet beetles.” If what I have is carpet beetles, it’s not the ‘varied carpet beetles’ that those pictures link to but rather ‘black carpet beetles’ (I done did some reedin too!) since mine are, well, black…and also not furry [shiver].
Anyways, I’m going to keep my eyes open and see if I can get a better picture later and wait for some more opinions as well.
The articles that I read said that finding a few here and there isn’t indicative of a problem. It’s not until you’re finding lots of them, or piles of dead bugs that you really need to worry about things like clothes and furniture being destroyed.
That is true. A few bugs here and there are rarely a problem. They just live in the same house as you. It would be a very unhealthy house if no other creature would want to live there. Next time, don’t squash them; follow them and see where they go, what hiding place or food source.
Have you looked out for other insects?
For instance, clothes moths show themselves both by little white larvae AND by little brown moths.
Beetles are the adult form and might be, if they procrate in you home, look like tiny little worms in their larval stage.
That would take an long time I think. They’re quick, but not that quick. Also, I seem to find them in two spots. In the toilet as I mentioned above seems to be the most common spot. The other place I always seem to find them is on the end table right next to where I sit and watch TV. But that seems like a pretty obvious case of confirmation bias.
Actually, I have a few little insects in my home. I usually try to find out what they are, and if they are not harmful or indicative of any problem, I just try and welcome them.
For instance, I tolerated a few cellar spiders in my home. You know, the barely visible ones who have a shoddy web in the corner of the ceiling and vibrate if they are afraid?
Well, a couple months ago I noticed a tiny insect living in a self made cocoon of silk and plaster crumbs. It turned out to be a bagworm. Bagworm moth - Wikipedia. My initial “ew” reaction soon was replaced with a sense of wonder. These little innocent creatures eat nothing but discarded spider silk. They make a tiny home for themselves, growing as they grow, like a tiny shell, that will last them their entire little life. That tiny, incredible modest life, hanging from that wall and moving an inch a month to get to the next invisible thread of unused spider silk so they can sustain themselves another month.
Now when I walk past and see them, I give them an inward nod and smile and feel… I don’t know exactly. Let’s just say they are my version of a bronze Buddha statue on a home altar.
I have a macro lens for my thousand dollar DSLR Nikon D70 camera. I also have three stackable extension tubes of different lengths as well as three stackable close up lenses for my regular lens. Having said that, my 70-300 zoomed all they way in will work just fine. Hell, my 18-70 will probably do a fine job as well at 70mm.
(I’m also a halfway decent photographer…I’m not just a random guy with a bunch of fancy equipment.)
Want to make those little bugs go away? Get some geckos. When I first moved into this place years ago, I saw at least a half-dozen German Cockroaches and Daddy Longlegs spiders every month. Within a month of introducing the geckos, I haven’t seen a single bug since.
What a bizarre line of thinking. If you don’t have pests and rodents you are living in an unhealthy place? I haven’t seen a single bug since I moved into a new apartment ~4 months ago and it’s lovely.
Have you checked your dry goods like flour and rice, or dry dog/cat food for little round holes in the bags? To me they look like Grain Beetles of a sort.
