Hello, Bugman;
We have several houseplants: jades, aloes, hibiscus, etc, which seem to be attracting or generating extremely tiny flying black gnats or fleas that can barely be seen. We have washed down the plants to no avail; the almost invisible slowly flying bugs are still showing up in many areas of the house. Any idea of what this pest is and how we can control or eradicate it? Thanks so much for your help!
T.E. Boston
Dear T.E. Boston,
My money is on the Black Gnat, Bradysia impatiens. This is a type of root gnat from the Family Sciaridae. The adults are the tiny black gnats that flit in your face while you are watching television and that always seem to get stuck in fresh paint, writes Hogue. He continues "The larva lives in decaying plant material, such as compost, peat, and sphagnum; it also commonly infests the roots and stems of various herbaceous plants. The insects may develop in the media used for potted plants, which explains its mysterious appearance indoors." A mild soapy water used to water the plants might help. Other natural methods to try are an infusion of crushed garlic in water, or nicotine in water. Try soaking some cigarette butts in water and using that when you need to water the plants. The same can be done with the garlic infusion
¶ Posted 01 January 2004 § Gnats ‡ ° I have no idea what has invaded my shower. I am a very clean housekeeper so this little bug has nothing to do with an unclean environment. I live on a lake and maybe that has something to do with it. Well, here goes the description. It is a very, very small black wormlike bug not even a 1/2″ long and about as big around as mechanical pencil lead. It gets into the edge of the shower and digs into the grout. I can pour clorox in the shower and they come out and die. If you do not kill all of them you will see a fat black knat like fly with big wings a few weeks later. I had the shower taken down and the shower pan liner replaced. Nothing was in that area. I am constantly pouring clorox and killing thesethings but will still see the knat and worm like bugs. I also have to replace the caulking in the shower frequently because they dig into it and using the clorox also eats it away.
Do you have any idea what I have and how to get rid of it?
Dear Virginia,
You have bathroom flies, Clogmia albipunctata, which belong to the family of Moth Flies, Psychodidae. You have it exactly right. The larval form lives in the organic muck which forms inside the drains, and the fact that you live so closely to a lake probably compounds your situation since they will also enter the home from the outside where they live in shallow pools and tree holes. Thoroughly cleaning your plumbing might help, but as long as you continue to kill the individuals you are finding, you will help to control the population.
Dear Bugman,
I was wondering if you can tell me what purpose that mosquitos serve. We all know that bees are for pollination and that ladybugs eat aphids but what purpose does the mosquito serve in the insect world. This is something I have tried researching all to no avail.
Dear Steve,
You are forcing me to get philosophical. Charles Darwin, though he is primarily known for his theory of evolutionism, also was intrigued by the complex interactions of organisms within the universe. Eliminate one species from the equation and the delicate balance could be forever overturned, setting into play the destruction of life as we know it. Now I’m not saying that if mosquitos were obliterated, everything would die, but they do serve as an important link in the food chain. Dragonflies, swallows and many fish are dependant upon the lowly pestilence known as the mosquito for their existance. Eliminate the mosquito and the swallows might no longer return to Capistrano or any other place for that matter. They serve a purpose, and just because we don’t know exactly what it is, does not lessen that purpose.
Hi – We seem to be attracting a type of fly into our house that I’ve never seen before; It’s about 2cm long. Has a yellow & black striped abdomen approx 1cm & quite fat. A brown beetle like back between its head and abdomen 6 Brown legs 2 very big browny transparent wings large eyes with a central yellow stripe between thema pointy chin with a little feeler hanging centrally under it. Does it sound familiar…??? Hope you can help.
Regards,
Anthony
Dear Anthony,
There are some types of flies which mimic bees, and are colored as you describe. They belong
to the Family Syrphidae and are called Flower Flies. They are beneficial to gardeners.
¶ Posted 31 July 2003 § ‡ ° I live in the midwest and recently relandscaped a good portion of my lawn and had bluegrass sod laid. ok so it was a very warm dry winter then 2 days after sod was laid the spring rains started and just keep coming. Problem is 2 monthes later the rains still come 1 or 2 times a week. there are lots of mushrooms growing in the new sod but that dosen’t bother me i know it will dry up soon. the problem is the sodded area seems to be infested with small dark colored flying bugs larger than gnats but smaller than the average house fly.the sod is still deep green but im worried that this could be a damaging infestation! what kind of insecticide should be used ? can you tell me what kind of bug this could be? thanks in advance!
Robert Bouchard
Dear Robert,
Many nonbiting gnats including Root Gnats (Family Sciaridae) and March Flies (Family Bibionidae) spend their maggot form eating decaying plant material such as compost, peat and spaghnum. They are scavengers who often live among the roots of grasses. There was probably a substrate of manure and compost laid beneath your sod, and that is where the flies are breeding. They will not damage your lawn as they do not feed on the living grass.
¶ Posted 21 May 2003 § ‡ ° I live in the midwest and recently relandscaped a good portion of my lawn and had bluegrass sod laid. ok so it was a very warm dry winter then 2 days after sod was laid the spring rains started and just keep coming. Problem is 2 monthes later the rains still come 1 or 2 times a week. there are lots of mushrooms growing in the new sod but that dosen’t bother me i know it will dry up soon. the problem is the sodded area seems to be infested with small dark colored flying bugs larger than gnats but smaller than the average house fly.the sod is still deep green but im worried that this could be a damaging infestation! what kind of insecticide should be used ? can you tell me what kind of bug this could be? thanks in advance!
Robert Bouchard
Dear Robert,
Many nonbiting gnats including Root Gnats (Family Sciaridae) and March Flies (Family Bibionidae) spend their maggot form eating decaying plant material such as compost, peat and spaghnum. They are scavengers who often live among the roots of grasses. There was probably a substrate of manure and compost laid beneath your sod, and that is where the flies are breeding. They will not damage your lawn as they do not feed on the living grass.
¶ Posted 21 May 2003 § Gnats ‡ ° Lately I have been seeing some of the large mosquito-like creatures and am wondering: Do they really eat mosquitos? I’m talking about the ones that look just like mosquitos but are much lagers and fly with their legs dangling in an almost comical way. They never bother us excpt for an occasional tickle as they brush over an arm, and we are careful to not kill them, ushering them outside if the cat hasn’t already gotten them… Thanks. I just occasioned upon your web page thanks to google…
LOU
Dear Lou,
I’m so happy that search engine is doing what it is supposed to do, direct the curious to our site. You are talking about crane flies which though they are known locally in some areas as mosquito hawks, do not really feed on mosquitos. They have soft mouthparts incapable of biting. The Giant Crane Fly, Holorusia hespera, is one of the world’s largest flies with a 3 inch wing span. I’m also happy to hear we have a reader who knows how to cope with insect visitors in a kind and logical manner instead of just bombarding the entire environment with pesticides to no avail.
Thanks! I found a corroborative answer in further searching, Crane Flies! Never heard the name but known the interesting creatures all my life. And Mosquito Hawks are also names for dragonflies and Damsel flies. Fascinating photo article on Damsel flies in National Geographic recently, too.
Thanks, Bugman!
Lou
I live in SC and yesterday (4/30) I found 3 bugs attached to my miniature pincher’s bare belly (only on hairless spots). They were much easier to remove than a tick. I know they were sucking her blood because they were attached exactly the same way (like a tick would be) and were full of blood. They leave red patches that get about as big as a dime and last 3-4 days but don’t itch. The spots look almost like ringworm. The bugs looked very much like sweat bees but didn’t sting me when I removed them. They had tiny transparent wings and were black like a sweat bee but a little smaller. Our vet didn’t know what this could be. I have never found one of them on a person, but my dog has been getting these red spots whenever she’s been outside over an hour (which only happens in warm weather). Please tell me what this could be so I can protect my little dog.
Thank you,
Angie
Dear Angie,
Louse Flies, family Hippoboscidae, are small with flattened bodies. They look like winged ticks that cling tenaciously or crawl sluggishly when they land on skin or clothing. All louse flies are blood suckers, though none feed regularly on humans. Upon emerging from the pupa the adult fly, which has fully developed though fragile wings, flies among trees and shrubs in search of prey. They are ectoparasites whose natural prey includes deer and certain birds.
¶ Posted 01 May 2003 § ‡ ° 
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