So you think you’ve got bedbugs? Don’t jump the gun.
February 3, 2010
Dear Bugman,
Thank you for just being you. This is a wonderful blog. I will spare you my gushing, but suffice it to say that this experience has turned me from a bug hater to a bug enthusiast! Here’s my little story:
I was doing a little(overdue) cleaning under my bed last Sunday, and pulled out a cotton sock that had little bugs on it. I admit, I panicked. I found more in and on a broken umbrella that I meant to throw away, and immediately ran to bag those things and put them outside. I have noticed that bedbugs have been getting a lot of press these days, so I assumed that’s what they were. I completely flipped out and commenced to cleaning my whole room top to bottom, baseboards first. I found another smaller nest of them under/behind st of drawers on a couple of cotton balls in a little nest of cathair, human hair, and dust. I have two cats that live indoors, so my bedroom had quite a bit of cathair on the floor. Gross, I know, but these bugs were loving it I guess. It’s like a Vegas buffet in there!
Anyway, I did a lot of internet research after I flipped out (bagging my mattresses and boiling my sheets) and began to think that maybe I had something that’s not a bedbug.
I hadn’t gotten any real bites that I was aware of, but I deduced the ‘bedbugs’ must be feeding off my cat, Prissy, who happens to have a bald, itchy belly right now. I also found one, lone bug between my boxpring and mattress. I found a few more around the plastic reinforcing corner on my boxspring. That was my confirmation that I needed to evacuate. Besides that, I was itching like crazy just thinking about them.
Today I finally found a few that I had not yet dispatched (sorry) so we had a little photoshoot. They are either very sleepy or dead, because the ones that were not just casings (or skeletons) don’t move a lot that I can tell.
While I was under my chest of drawers (also wood, like my headboard, and used) I saw a brighter, more active bug with orangey black striped/spotted wings. Again, I was freaking when I saw that, so into the trash it went.
After I looked at the pictures I took, I thought I may have carpet beetle larvae instead of the dreaded bedbug. I am praying that you can confirm this! Thanks for your time, and keep up the great work.
Jen in TN
Pulaski, Tennessee, USA (Mid-South USA)

Carpet Beetle Larvae

Good Morning Jen,
It must give you such pleasure to awake in such a clean bedroom.  If only we would be similarly inspired to thoroughly clean our own room, we would probably find some Carpet Beetle Larvae as well.  Goodness knows how many we would find in our own cat’s favorite hiding place in the back of the closet.  You are correct that these are Carpet Beetle Larva.  We wanted to direct your attention to another letter from our archives, and we couldn’t locate it, so we are transferring the information from our old computer to the new computer and reposting as it seems to have gotten lost in the site migration.  Thanks so much for your highly entertaining contribution.

Carpet Beetle Larva

Small Brown bug with white/yellow stripe
January 21, 2010
We have been finding these bugs in our kitchen and family room area. The bugs look like a beetle type, they are small dark brown almost black, with a white or yellow band on their backs. We normally find them in the morning laying on their backs on the hardwood floor. I want to spray for these and I am fearful that they are wood eaters. We live in a timber frame home from the early 1970s.
Jeffrey Feiler
South Central Pennsylvania

Larder Beetles

Dear Jeffrey,
Your wooden house is safe, but you are sharing your food.  It is time to clean out the pantry and search for the source of your Larder Beetle, Dermestes lardarius, infestation.  According to BugGuide, this cosmopolitan species will eat food stuff and museum specimens.  You may also need to check your trophy stag heads hanging above the fireplace or the bearskin rug on the floor in the den.  Generally, you need to find the source of the infestation to rid yourself of pantry beetles and general extermination is just a waste of money as it cannot target the source, especially if the Larder Beetles are in edible foods.  You should also check that bargain bag of dog food.

Daniel,
Thank you so much for the help. I thought they didn’t look like wood eaters, but we just moved down to PA from NH. Up there you had just mosquitoes and black flies (which ate my flesh and blood alot). Nothing else survived the winters for the most part. Southern PA has a zillion bugs, especially the annoying STINK BUG which I am convinced will survive nuclear holocaust, those things are more hearty then roaches.
Thanks Again,
Jeffrey Feiler

What is this and how do I get rid of it?
January 12, 2010
Hello!
For the past two months we have had these small bugs infesting our kitchen. We thought maybe they were just coming in from the cold, but now we cannot get rid of them.
They are small (less than 5mm), blackish-brown, I think they have 6 legs and 2 antena but it’s hard to tell. They are only on our countertops and occassionally we find them on the floor in our kitchen. They do not get into our cupboards. They do not jump, just crawl.
We have tried several sprays for ants, roaches, sowbugs, beatles, gnats, spiders, flies…pretty much everything that we could think of. Obviously we’re not getting the right kind of stuff.
Any help you can give in determining what kind of bug this is and how we can get rid of it would be great. Sorry the picture is not very helpful. I can’t get a closer shot that’s clear.
Let me know if you need any more information.
Thank you!
Holly Grant
Tonawanda, NY (north Buffalo near Lake Erie)

Grain Beetles

Hi Holly,
Earlier this morning, we posted another image of a tiny beetle that is infesting a home, but in that case, we are uncertain of the species.  Your beetles are either Merchant Grain Beetles, Oryzaephilus mercator, or Sawtooth Grain Beetles, Oryzaephilus surinamensis,two species in the genus Oryzaephilus.  These beetles will infest grains and according to BugGuide:  “larvae and adults feed on damaged kernels of stored grains: barley, oats, rice, sunflower seeds, and wheat, plus flour, pasta, breakfast cereals, cake mixes, and various other processed foods used for human consumption
Life Cycle  female O. surinamensis lays 45-285 white, shiny eggs singly or in small clusters in crevices in the food material during a 2-5 month period; eggs hatch in 3-17 days depending on temperature; larva passes through 3-5 instars and usually constructs a pupal cell or cocoon from food particles held together with sticky oral secretions; larva attaches anal end to some solid object to pupate; life cycle typically 30-50 days (range 27-375); optimal developmental conditions 30-35 degrees Celsius and 70 percent humidity; as many as 6-7 generations per year, depending on temperature and food supply; adults typically live 6-10 months but may live longer than 3 years.“  BugGuide also indicates that they can be found:  “in containers or buildings where grain is stored; adult O. surinamensis cannot fly; adults of O. mercator are strong fliers but are not attracted to light.“  We would suggest that you inspect the pantry closely to identify the source of the infestation.  Extermination will not help unless all of your food is sprayed with pesticide, which is not a healthy option.

A Few More Things About my Bug/Fly/Beetle
November 4, 2009
My bugs have very distinct personalities. If they are fruit flies or drain flies, they don’t fly around fruit or the drain. They’re very lazy and just sit there. If I try to capture them, they do squirm away – but of course I’m faster. If they’re some kind of pantry beetle/saw tooth beetle, they don’t match the profile. I have yet to find them in food. Like a lunatic I’ve been going through every box, carton or bag, examing them and then throwing them out. I haven’t found these creatures in any food source. They now seem to take the occasionally holiday from the kitchen for an excursion the the dining room. There is no food or moisture in the dining room. I can’t figure out what they are afte other than a dark place to huddle. I may have get up in the middl e of the night with a miners cap to figure out what they are. Please save me this embarssment. It’s nearly halloween, so I think I’m safe from being reported to the asylum for wearing my bug tracking costume. People will think I dressed as an exterminator – I hope. All my food is now solely in the fridge. This is horrible.
Pest-ered Still and Exhausted
NE US- PA

Merchant Grain Beetle

Dear Pest-ered Still and Exhausted,
We are posting some old letters today, and we are not certain if you have eradicated your beetle infestation.  These are Sawtoothed Grain Beetles or Merchant Grain Beetles in the genus Oryzaephilus which is represented on BugGuide which states:  “larvae and adults feed on damaged kernels of stored grains: barley, oats, rice, sunflower seeds, and wheat, plus flour, pasta, breakfast cereals, cake mixes, and various other processed foods used for human consumption.”

Slow moving, tick-like bug
December 23, 2009
Hi bug people!
I have continuously seen these bugs in my bathroom, usually on the floor. I have never seen them anywhere else in my apartment. At first I thought they were ticks, but they crush very easily, and are round but don’t appear to be filled with blood. They move very slowly and the one I took a picture of was also moving very cautiously, exploring everything with its antennae. Not sure if this is normal, but when I used a flash, the bug appeared reddish (3rd photo). Otherwise, it appears black. It is also very very small, maybe about 1/2 cm. I’d really like to ID this bug to make sure it’s not posing any kind of risk to me by being there! Thanks in advance!
EG
Queens, NY

Spider Beetle

Dear EG,
This is a Spider Beetle, Gibbium aequinoctiale, a common pest of stored foods.  The origin of the beetle is unknown as it now has a cosmopolitan distribution.  Though you are finding them in the bathroom, unless you also store food there, you should look for the infestation in the kitchen.