What kind of bug is this?
Location: Shoreham, NY
April 6, 2011 9:38 pm
Hi,
I’ve found several of these little critters all over my house – in the kitchen, in the bathroom, on random walls and on the rugs. They are very sluggish and tend to just sit there making them easy targets to do away with. They are black with a white or brownish band and are about a millimeter long. My home is located in a development which is surrounded by woods and the dirt the area is mostly clay if that helps. I first started seeing them this winter. It was very and very snowy. I saw them again today it had rained both yesterday and this evening. Thank for your help.
Signature: Lost in the Woods
Larder Beetle
Dear Lost,
You have Larder Beetles, a common pest of stored food products that has a cosmopolitan distribution. Clean out the pantry and you should find the source of the infestation.
What is this bug?
Location: summerville, south carolina
April 3, 2011 9:22 pm
Found these guys in my son’s sand box after it got wet from rain. They are .6 to .7 mm in size. black and shiny. six legs.straight antenna. sent picture for help.
Signature: mike
Subterranean Termites
Dear Mike,
These sure look like Subterranean Termites to us. These dark individuals were most likely winged reproductive individuals that swarmed and have lost their wings after returning to the ground. Compare your photo to this image on BugGuide. Is your son’s sand box made of wood? Inspect it for Termite galleries. Subterranean Termites nest in soil and form chambers in rotting wood that comes into contact with the ground.
Subterranean Termites
¶ Posted 04 April 2011 § Termites ‡ ° Also tagged: A very big & gracious……….THANK U SO VERY MUCH
March 30, 2011 11:10 am
I’m an absolute virgin to the internet, but am very grateful to your site. I have identified that I have an infestation of the varied carpet beetle (NOT bed bugs as was my 1st thought). My QUESTION is: How do I deter and remove them from my home without KILLING or HARMING them in anyway? ….. Also ….. what outside habitat do the prefer, IF – I’m able to find them.? I do know & understand u r a small group of volunteers, that you have a lot of work to do for your site and u cant possibly read or reply to all the questions & queries sent to u. If u do happen to read this it would be most appreciated if u dont have the answers if can give me another web address where I can find my answers. Yours Truly & Utterly Grateful, from Shelley,frae SCOTLAND. U.K.
Signature: Shelley
Carpet Beetles
Hi Shelley,
Your complimentary email touched us and we want you to know that we do not frown upon “internet virgins” visiting our website. We are happy to hear you had a good experience. We have chosen a photo from our archives of Varied Carpet Beetles, Anthrenus verbasci, taken by Tina, to accompany your letter. This particular photo shows the adults in their preferred habitat, the garden. Adult Varied Carpet Beetles feed upon pollen, and were it not for the potentially destructive tendencies of the larvae, which feed upon organic fibers, they might be considered a beneficial species. Varied Carpet Beetles have adapted to living with humans, and they are one of the most commonly encountered species to be found in the home. Because the larvae may damage woolen rugs and other articles made of fur and feathers they are considered a household pest, but they also feed upon accumulated pet hair in the home. Adults are most commonly noticed on window sills. They need to get outside to feed upon pollen, and the adults will not damage the home. We would suggest a small whisk broom and dust pan for capturing the adults so that they may be released outdoors. Frequent vacuuming under beds and under couch cushions and similar locations will minimize the presence of the larvae and then reduce the numbers of adults you find indoors. Identification requests of both adult and larval Carpet Beetles have been among our most common queries this year. We seriously contemplated making the Carpet Beetle the Bug of the Month again this past winter. Instead, we have been regularly highlighting it in our relatively new featured section at the top of our home page.
Weird Bug
Location: South East Texas
March 24, 2011 4:43 pm
Mr. or Mrs. Bugman…
I have a black little bug…about a millimeter long…oval shaped…light colored spots…crawls but has wings…
Thought it was a ladybug; but can’t find any pics of it. HELP PLEASE.
Signature: Infested
Carpet Beetles
Dear Infested,
You have Carpet Beetles. The larvae feed on wool and other types of animal fibers and the adults are pollen feeders. When the beetles mature, large quantities of the adult accumulate on windowsills in an attempt to reach the outside where the flowers are blooming. Larvae can do tremendous damage to museum collections as well as home furnishings.
Carpet Beetles
Bedbug?
Location: Upstate New York
March 20, 2011 7:55 am
My son found this on my chair. We searched high and low and found no others. Is this a bedbug? The pic is the best I could do since he is so small. For a size reference, the container he is in is a 2TBSP medicine cup.
Signature: AC
Bed Bug, possibly
Dear AC,
The photo you have submitted is entirely too blurry to make any definitive identification impossible, but it might be a Bed Bug. The general shape and markings appear to match those of a Bed Bug, as you can see from this photo on BugGuide. Most of the Bed Bug ID requests we receive are actually Carpet Beetles, but in your case, we believe you have the real thing. You should immediately seek professional assistance before you have an infestation, and since you have an actual specimen, you can verify the identity of this creature at your Natural History Museum or at a University before you spend the money on any eradication methods.
Is it possible to have one bedbug? I found one on my chair but I went through the entire living room (all furniture, behing furniture, crevices etc) and found nothing. I also checked all beds and mattresses and found no brown or red spots or shells or anything. Could one have gotten in without “infesting” me?
At this point, anything is speculation since the photo is not conclusive. We repeat: “since you have an actual specimen, you can verify the identity of this creature at your Natural History Museum or at a University before you spend the money on any eradication methods.”
1
¶ Posted 20 March 2011 § Bedbugs ‡ ° Also tagged: Strange House Tick?
Location: Chicago, IL
March 17, 2011 7:10 pm
Dear Bugman/Bugwoman,
We were living in a damp, dark basement apartment and started seeing these strange bugs about a month ago. We probably found 3 or 4 and then we moved to a new apartment a week ago and they seem to have followed us. We’ve already found 3 of them crawling around on our stuff. I’m feeling paranoid that we’re infested with something! Is there any way you can help me identify our unwelcome stowaway? I have attached 2 pictures. They aren’t the clearest, but maybe they will be enough. If you need another picture I can send some. I captured a couple of the bugs so I could try to figure out what they were.
Thanks for your help.
Sincerely,
Signature: Ed
Spider Beetle
Hi Ed,
There are many small beetles that infest stored foods, and many of them have a cosmopolitan distribution. This is a Spider Beetle, most likely in the genus Mezium as your photo, though blurry, appears to show a pronotum with furry pubescence which according to BugGuide is a distinguishing feature.
Small house bug?
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada
March 12, 2011 4:48 pm
Hi my name is Dillan and i was wondeirng what kind of bugs these are?
I have found about 10-20 of them on my window sill in my bedroon over the last couple of days. I’m not sure if they are in other parts of the house because they are so small I wouldn’t normally notice them. I live in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and found the bugs in March, 2011. The weather has been warming up lately but they bugs might have been here for a while I just never noticed them.
Thanks for your help!
Signature: Dillan
Booklouse
Hi Dillan,
You have Booklice, minuscule insects that are often found in damp locations indoors where they feed on mold. They will not harm you or your home, but if they are present in large numbers, they may be an indication that there is a serious mold problem. They can also sometimes infest stored foods. You can read more about Booklice on the Texas A&M Agricultural Extension Service website.
Identify the bug
Location: California
March 13, 2011 4:17 pm
Hello! We keep finding these small bugs on our carpet, in our bedroom and I haven’t been able to identify it. It has two-tone body, almost black and yellow, very small, hard shell. I have attached pictures. I hoping these aren’t bed bugs, they dont look like them based on the pictures i’ve seen.
Signature: Rachelle Stimmel
Varied Carpet Beetle
Hi Rachelle,
This is the third identification request for the Varied Carpet Beetle we are posting this morning. The larvae can damage wool rugs and other organic materials found in the home and they also do significant damage to museum collections. They are cosmopolitan in distribution.
I like This
